IslandGuru Who payed the critics

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Jackson Booth-Millard I remember liking the dance film starring Julia Stiles, Save the Last Dance, so I thought with a good leading actor and a recognisable title here, I might as well give it a try. Based on a true story, polite dance instructor/teacher Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) is determined to help a bunch of troubled kids (most often in detention) get a second chance, learning to dance. It takes a while for them to get enthusiastic in doing ballroom dances, e.g. samba, tango, waltz, etc, as they don't agree with Pierre's music and dance tastes, liking hip hop and rap, but he eventually catches their attention with a tango dance, and they soon commit, even creating a few new dance moves in routines. Pierre believes they could compete in a big dance contest coming up, with a big cash prize, and the last few dance scenes make the good ending. Also starring Rob Brown as Rock, Yaya DaCosta as LaRhette, Dante Basco as Ramos, John Ortiz as Mr. Temple, Laura Benanti as Tina, Marcus T. Paulk as Eddie, Jenna Dewan as Sasha and Alfre Woodard as Augustine James. Banderas obviously struts his stuff, the supporting cast all get their moments too, but the film is mostly interesting of course for the energetic and exciting dance sequences, backed up with a good soundtrack, including Black Eyed Peas. Worth watching!

Penny Lane I'm gonna start by saying that the only reason why I went to all the trouble of opening an account in this site so I could publicly complain about this movie. I was watching it a while ago and I just couldn't stop laughing out loud during the whole thing, since it's just unbelievable the amount of nonsense and common places just one single film can come up with. Although it is to be remarked that the dancing is sincerely amazing (which is why I gave it a 2), that doesn't make up for the fact that the rest of the movie is just an insult to both the viewer's intelligence and the art of story-telling altogether. If there was a competition to decide which script in the history of the film industry contains the highest number of clichés in the world, this one would definitively "take the lead" of it and leave all the rest of them behind. Honestly, I just couldn't believe it: when this movie was written, someone must have been following the how-to-make-a-corny-movie recipe, because absolutely all of the ingredients are to be found in this film. We have: 1) The authority: a mean and not-so-cold-hearted school principal, who pretends to be to tough to care but in the end proves that deep down she has feelings and all. 2)The hero: a sweet well intentioned dance teacher, who apparently has way too much free time and money in his hands. 3) The ones who are saved by the hero: an outcast group of annoyingly stereotypical minority examples, such as hispanic, obese and black people who have to deal with all sorts of dramatic issues: there's the drug related murder, the alcoholic father, the mother who has to prostitute herself to feed her children and the abandon father. Of course, all this kids go out of their ways to be "better than that". Yet, they are all in detention. 4) The nemesis: a science teacher who not only doesn't give a damn about this unfortunate children, but even manages to get the school PTA (mean bastards, the lot of them) against the dance classes, as if the parent and teachers didn't have anything better to deal with, given the fact that half of the students seem to be nothing but potential criminals. 5) The mean blonde (very blond. Stereotype contrast is everything here), who looks down at the lot because they are poor and not American. Hence, a bunch of losers. 6) The blonde who's not mean: an upper-class teenager (as white as white paint can be) with way too many issues to even talk about them. Risks her head joining the ghetto dance class but gets away with it and ends up hooking up with an obese black guy who everyone calls "monster". Her mother's gonna be proud. 7) The drama moment: the final scene where all of the above (yes, the principal too) come together in a dance contest that the for-some-reason-loaded dance teacher manages to get them into by paying a fortune. They don't win (that would have been way too much) but they do learn the lesson: "go for your dreams", "don't never give up", "we're all the same", whatever other cheesy thing you might think of. To all of this, I would just like to add the fact that the whole movie lacks of any kind of deepness in regards of the serious issues it pretends to deal with, it's boring, predictable and just as flat as a white sheet. Don't waste your time on this film; if you wanna see dancing moves, just go watch high school musical or something like that.

Isaac5855 In the tradition of GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS, THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, TO SIR WITH LOVE, and DANGEROUS MINDS we get a new variation on the old story of a group of misfit high school students finding new motivations in life through a dedicated teacher. TAKE THE LEAD is a fact-inspired tale revolving around Pierre Dulaine, the owner of a ballroom dancing studio who, after witnessing an act of teenage vandalism, offers to teach ballroom dancing at an inner city high school. The principal tentatively agrees to let him teach the kids who are permanently in detention for the rest of the school year. Despite a preachy, cliché-filled screenplay and manic music video direction, the film is watchable because the dance sequences are positively electric, superbly choreographed by JoAnn Jansen. Antonio Banderas is charming and understated as Dulaine, the caring teacher who does manage to reach these kids until the world of these kids and the world of the students at his own school begin to collide. Banderas wisely underplays to the extremely gifted young actors chosen to play the delinquents-turned-dancers here and allows them to shine, as they should and do. Alfre Woodard also manages to make the most of a predictably-written role as the principal of the school. When the movie leaves the dance floor, it screeches to a dead halt, but every single dance sequence in the film is mesmerizing, whether it's a single student practicing by herself in a quiet boiler room or a three versus two tango challenge that is like nothing I've ever seen on screen. When the movie dances it works, when it stops dancing, be forewarned as it trots out every cliché you've ever seen in a movie about inner city high school kids, but Banderas and the dancing make it worth watching.

Katherine Coe I gave this a 10 to bring up the rating of a film that might be overlooked by those who limit their viewing based on the numbers, and to counterbalance those who might rate it lower due to a general disdain for the genre. I pretty much agree with the previous reviewer--despite the plethora of films with a similar concept, this film reaches you. It does this without attempting an arty grittiness, in spite of some obvious feel good plot lines and stereotypical characters, and it somehow manages to engage 'a willing suspension of disbelief.' I think it accomplishes this through the strength of Banderas' performance, the considerable charm of the rest of the cast, and the implausible--to skeptics--but very real accomplishments of the man who inspired the film. Making the film enjoyable didn't diminish--for me, at least--the value of Pierre Dulaine's message. For anyone who's struggled to learn to dance, the metaphorical microcosm of self expression, discipline, and nuances of social interaction in the film will ring true, and, if you enjoy 'the Latin beat' it will do it en clave. (I can't speak for the merits of it's hip hop, but it did make me more interested in learning more about it.)