Is there such a thing as a bad kid? or are "bad" kids just victims of circumstances beyond their control? Is punishment and detention the right way to deal with such kids or is this way the ONLY option left because the people in charge find it easier to dish out punishment than to tackle the root cause of the problem?
When kids are given detention, they are usually there because they have a lots of untapped energy waiting to be tapped into talent that is not being channeled in the right manner. Pierre is running ballroom dancing, but he feels that the prize winning dancers in his class need more energy - One day he sees a school kid in the street vandalize a car and decides to do something for the schools. He wants to help out, but the school principal decided to hand him the detention class of'losers' thinking he will not be back tomorrow.
The detention class has kids who are notorious for not listening and behaving. These kids are the trouble makers of the school! They are all into hip-hop, basketball and being free and mavericks! Pierre has his work cut out for him.
Will he succeed in teaching ballroom dancing to these maverick kids who think its a dance for upper classes.? Watch the movie to find out!
What I liked about the story is that instead of showing that kids don't care, the kids have been shown in a positive light - In reality, each one of them is not running away from school but they are running away from life because they have a family that does not care or has no choice.
1) One kid has a drunk father who refuses to work and the kid has to work after school to make ends meet.
"You know I'm sick" - tells his drunk father to the kid.
"I know you are drunk" - replies the kid.
2) There is a girl who's brother died peddling drugs to support his family. Her mom has to turn to prostitution to make ends meet and to feed her 3 kids.
A client asks the young girl "You are your mother's daughter, do you want to make some money too?"
This is the reality of what the kids have to face - What I liked about this movie is that It does not show despair - it shows the kids making the right decisions in difficult situations and take charge of their lives.
In real life, Pierre Dulaine loves dancing - A good way of spreading what you love is to take it to the masses - and Pierre did just that. He took his love of ballroom dancing to schools across America and now kids in school have an opportunity to learn dancing. Its such a beautiful thing! - This is reason enough to watch this movie - to promote this man's beautiful vision.
The title of the movie is "Take the lead" - It has a beautiful meaning that is seen thru a dialog in the movie when Pierre convinces parents at a PTA meeting to let his classes continue.
"What are you doing to help them Mr. temple? Do not pretend to care about the kids. What is this about? To do something, anything is hard. It is much easier to blame your mother, your father, the environment, the government, the lack of money. but even if you find a place to assign the blame, it doesn't make the problems go away. I'm trying something new."
He dances with the school principal.
"If she allows me to lead, she is trusting me, but more than that, she is trusting herself.Now, if your 16 yr. old daughter is strong and secure and trusts herself, how likely is it that she will allow some idiot to knock her up? And now if your son can learn to touch a girl with respect, how will he treat women throughout his life? This is what I do here at this school - I teach dance and with it I teach your kids a set of rules - about respect, about teamwork and dignity and that will help to give them a vision of the future they could have. Are there any questions?"
I think he showed what the title is about when a Parent replied: "Do you have adult classes?"
In the movie, Pierre Dulaine is played by none other than the suave Antonio Banderas! This man has class, the passion and the looks to carry off ballroom dancing in a commanding - yet gentle - yet manly manner!
The rest of the dancers are very very good! Each one has their own story and if you do get the DVD, take a moment to go thru the extras features to get to know them a little better.
A lot of music innovation was made for this movie. To make the movie connect to a wider audience, old school dance music has been blended with a hip-hop beat that makes this movie a pleasure to watch. This music is made by Aaron Zigman and Swizz Beatz. And where the music is dull, we have Antonio lighting up the scenes with his moves.
Direction is byLiz Friedlander. She has done a lot of pop videos, but never a movie. This is her debut attempt and she does just fine - and when I say that, I mean she has done a fine job with this movie:-)
Scenes to watch out for in the movie -
1) When Pierre talks to a kid and teaches him to be a gentleman - This is the funniest scene in the movie! IMO
2) When Pierre brings a girl from his class to show the kids that ballroom dancing can be HOTTTTT!
3) A kid's confrontation with his drunk father and how he takes charge.
4) Two kids hate each other and blame the each other for their brother's death - Pierre puts them in a room, blindfolds the girl and asks the boy to dance with her and develops a sense of trust between them.
5) Pierre's talk at the PTA meeting.
6) A moment before the competition when the students see a sense of purpose and incorporate dancing in their daily lives.
7) The tango - "La Cumparsita!" - this one is freaking hotttt! It gives the phrase "it takes two to tango" a whole new meaning:D
8) The final freestyle dance where everyone jumps in - the music is amazing in this one.
I give this movie 6.5 out of 10 because while it is not that great a movie, it still has a very good message that it conveys without being too preachy and still continuing to entertain. Plus this movie is about music and life and it has a wonderful beat to it - it will make you feel very good - I mean, it is about dancing! How can it be anything but good, right?!
Watch it and be swept off your feet.!
! Spike!
