Strictly Ballroom

Comedy, Romance

Paul Mercurio	Scott Hastings
Tara Morice	Fran
Bill Hunter	Barry Fife
Pat Thomson	Shirley Hastings
Gia Carides	Liz Holt
John Hannan	Ken Railings
Sonia Kruger	Tina Sparkle
Kris McQuade	Charm Leachman
Barry Otto	Doug Hastings
Peter Whitford	Les Kendall

Director	Baz Luhrmann
Producer	Tristram Miall; Baz Luhrmann
Writer	Baz Luhrmann; Craig Pearce

While the plot of this Australian film may seem a bit familiar (the Ugly Duckling meets Dirty Dancing), the humourous tone and superb dance sequences will make you forget the movie's predictability. Scott (Paul Mercurio) is a champion ballroom dancer who wants to dance "his own steps". Fran is the homely, beginning dancer who convinces Scott that he should dance his own steps...with her. Complicating matters are Scott's domineering mother (Pat Thompson), a former dancer herself, who wants her son to win the Australian Pan-Pacific Championship (the same contest she lost years ago), and a conniving dance committee that is determined that "there are no new steps!" The dancing is enjoyable, yet not overwhelming, and the movie strives hard not to take itself too seriously (the beginning of the film is even styled as a pseudo-documentary). Strictly Ballroom, while not so subtly imparting its moral ("A life lived in fear is a life half-lived"), is a funny romp that's sure to be a crowd pleaser. --Jenny Brown, Amazon.com