If a film has been more or less done before, it needs
to feel fresh in order to convince us of its value. Take the Lead visits the
familiar formula of an outsider who takes a group of disenfranchised kids
under his wing and shows them they have true potential. Even though it
falls back on clichés, the charisma of its star, Antonio Banderas,
helps us navigate the film’s well-traveled road. Banderas stars as Pierre Dulaine, a dynamic ballroom
dance instructor who comes across a teen named “Rock” (Rob
Brown), trashing a car with a golf club. Dulaine confronts the young man,
and later discovers the car belongs to a high school principal. The next
day, he visits the school to speak to Principal Augustine (Alfre Woodard)
and volunteers to teach ballroom dancing, hoping he can make a difference.
Knowing a sucker when she sees one, Augustine assigns him the task of
watching over a group of malcontents in detention. Things don’t go well when Dulaine first meets
his young charges, but he’s able to get their attention and respect
by returning day after day, despite their best efforts to get rid of him.
They finally form a bond and he convinces them to give ballroom dancing a
shot, showing them basically how sexy it all is. A subplot, which finds Dulaine trying to help Rock
with his personal life, slows things down. But the film soars as the kids
begin to learn the dance steps, which, as we know from being through this
cinematic dance time and again, is a metaphor for how they should approach
life. Though the final dance competition they compete in is a bit
ridiculous, it is entertaining and viewers will find themselves tapping
their toes in spite of themselves. Director Liz Friedlander has cut her teeth on music
videos and it shows. Her ability to cut together images to an uptempo beat
perfectly suits this material and helps energize it, a necessary commodity
for something this shopworn. Her visual flash supports Banderas’
flashy performance perfectly. He takes the lead and she matches him step by
step on this wonderfully executed, if predictable entertainment.
Also in theaters this week. . .
ATL [PG-13] The
coming-of-age story of four Atlanta boys graduating from high school and
confronting the different paths to the future. ShowPlace
East
Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction [R] Another psychological game of cat and mouse between the
seductive novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) and an unsuspecting
Scotland Yard psychiatrist. ShowPlace West
The Benchwarmers [PG-13]
A trio of middle-aged has-beens form a baseball team to compete against
area Little League teams in a feeble attempt to gain some dignity. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Failure to Launch [PG-13]
When Tripp, a 30-something slouch, won’t move out of the house, his
mother calls in the big guns: his dream woman. ShowPlace
West, ShowPlace East
Ice Age: The Meltdown [PG]
The Ice Age is officially over and Diego, Manny and Sid play Paul Revere to
alert the others before the ice melts and the valley is destroyed. ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Inside Man [R] Hostage
negotiator Keith Frazier finds himself in a match of wits with a bank
robber, but quickly realizes the heist isn’t exactly what it seems to
be. Directed by Spike Lee. ShowPlace West,
ShowPlace East
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector [PG-13] Larry, a jovial health inspector, spends his days
checking hole-in-the-wall diners for code violations — that is, until
he gets a new partner and a high-profile food poisoning case at a series of
upscale eateries. ShowPlace West
Lucky Number Slevin [R]
Slevin finds himself in Mafia crossfire when two dangerous crime bosses,
the Boss and the Rabbi, mistake his identity. Lucky he is not. ShowPlace West
Phat Girlz [PG-13]
Fashion designer Jazmin Biltmore and her two full-figure model friends
stumble upon a couple of men who value a bigger figure in our
weight-obsessed culture. ShowPlace East
Stay Alive [PG-13] A
group of teens play the off-limits video game “Stay Alive,” but
when a friend dies, the line between game and reality disappears. ShowPlace East
V for Vendetta [R] In a
corrupt Britain, a terrorist makes it his mission to blow up Parliament. ShowPlace West
This article appears in Apr 6-12, 2006.
