Janna S

Take the Lead

I'll probably get blasted for this, but I have to say how much I enjoyed the new Antonio Banderas film "Take the Lead," which I saw at a sneak preview on Saturday night.

Yeah, it's a plot you've seen before, with characters you recognize, implausible resolutions, and happy endings you can see coming a mile away. But it was tremendously fun to watch. The whole story was very engaging, there was some really clever editing, and there were enough little throwaway lines and bits to make it interesting. The getting-ready-for-the-night-out sequences were corny and really fun to watch (sort of a G-version of the great dressing/undressing scenes with Sutherland/Christie in Don't Look Now).

The sold-out audience really reacted throughout the show. Banderas was smooth, sexy, and utterly convincing, and he's not usually my type.

I am one of those moviegoers who stays until the very last credit, and I was pleased to see how they encouraged the audience to stick around for the credits.

The ending was right out of Footloose and Dirty Dancing and all the rest of those corny, unoriginal dance movies. So shoot me - I liked it, I really really liked it . . .

Cameron Yee

I was pleased to see Yaya - she of America's Next Top Model Cycle 3 - get a gig like this.

Patrick Sun

I really enjoyed the heart of this film, the pervasive feeling you get from watching good ballroom dancing with an urban twist thrown in to shake things up. My audience was so into the film that it broke out in applause at the conclusion of the standout dance performance in the last act of the film. That's the kind of buzz this film got right in terms of giving the audience earnest and exhilirating dance numbers, and a cast that you can root for given how far they had come to become the unlikeliest of ballroom dancers.

Now, the bits of inter-personal storylines that were interspersed throughout the film for the students were fine, nothing groundbreaking, the effects of learning how to dance and relate to one another in a new and positive manner more than made up for any deficiencies in the glimpses in the students' lives.

Antonio Banderas is very suave, smooth, just perfect for the role, though he spoke a little too softly in spots. Alfre Woodard is able to give enough principal import to whatever scene she is in, and provides a good foundation for grounding the film, while also becoming invested in the transformation of the wayward students that were previously just an after-school detention class.

If you enjoy ballroom dancing, and films that feature underdogs to root for, then you'll have a nice time with this film. (I blame "Dancing with the Stars" for my recent interest in ballroom dancing, but I make no excuses for enjoying watching it done well, and not so well.)

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

"I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!"
Patcave | 2006 Films | 2007 Films | Dragon Con 2007

Victor Wright

Re: Take the Lead

I absolutely loved this film. Great soundtrack,and a whole lot of fun. I've never been a fan of Ballroom Dancing, and I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive about seeing this film, but I'm glad I did. I definitely give it a 4/5.

Just for the record, I enjoyed it so much, that I've seen it three times already.