My review
If the standard of a great, entertaining ballroom movie is
Strictly Ballroom, this is certainly not it. The dancing to me was choreographed pretty well, but don't think you can write down all the moves of their salsa routine. If you want an Oscar-winning screenplay, you've got to be kidding.
What I liked about the movie: at least to some point, the situations in this movie can relate to more people than the original (I'd name my child Baby... sure). There was more tension that could be relayed from the disparities from the ex-pat Americans and the Cubans around them (nationalism, freedom, duty, etc.). Or rather there could have been a bit more which I think could have made the movie a bit more authentic. As it was, the potential differences they tried to relay between ballroom training (Katie and her family) and Latin freestyle (Javier and his world) really didn't show up so much as a great contrast as I would have wanted. My favorite part of the movie was when Katie first dances with Javier in La Rosa Negra and she prepares in ballroom position; I can't count the times I have done that while club-dancing.
I mean seriously, I am pulled between formal ballroom and club dancing all the time, and as much as I liked the fact they tapped a bit into this odd conflict that I have (and maybe many of you too), it just didn't develop as much. (Don't say they didn't know... this story is based on the experiences of one of the co-producers and choreographers who does have ballroom training.) That said, the philosophy of dancing, and especially the differences between Katie wanting to do a routine and Javier wanting to freestyle could have been played up more. Really, you could heighten the tension by actually giving Katie more attitude that dancing is really one of the things she does WELL (win junior titles in ballroom or something) and try to deal with Javier's lack of frame, improvisation, and musicality. If you did that, you could add maybe another 3 minutes to the movie.
In the end, the movie isn't so much about dancing as it is about romance. Does it do it that well? I guess so for a teenage/20's crowd.
Also liked:
2) The acting was actually pretty decent. Not too melodramatic.
3) Of course, the dancing in general seemed pretty good, from whatever glimpses you got through edits.
What bothered me about the movie:
1) Actually my friends noticed this too: the Patrick Swayze cameo seemed out of place. I understood why it was there (at least to the extent that I did understand), but it was interesting to see him basically dancing his DD routine all over again with the same mambo from the original. Regardless, it seemed like "this is a nod to the original scene, and we're so glad to have him".
2) Why did Katie's mom give up dancing? That was not really clear. In fact, the character development of the parents as dancers and their history was not at all clear. Again, there is a lot of potential here that just did not appear... not in the same vein that Doug and Shirley Hastings (the parents) in
Strictly Ballroom had in their history. Certainly there could have been more "support" from the parents in the week between the preliminaries and the finals.
3) The musical anachronisms. I love the soundtrack and will likely find a way to incorporate it into my music mixes (El Beso del Final as NC2S, Do You Only Want to Dance as obvious salsas/mambos). But that's a lot of hip-hop for 1958. I can't help but think WCS or "practice cha-cha" to "Represent, Cuba." Some more authentic Cuban son would be fine, even if it isn't as "hip" to the young audience they are targeting.
4) The finals scenes were too short. Having seen the trailer and then watched the movie, there are scenes of some of the dancing couples from the final in the trailer that I don't remember at all in the movie. Sure, we're talking maybe one additional minute of time, but I really would have liked to see that.
5) What number was Javier wearing on the back of his suit? I leave this up as an exercise to you when you watch the movie during the preliminary heat. I thought it was a different number during some of the scenes.
6) Was the Cuban revolution really as bloodless as it seemed? Ladies and gentlemen, Batista has left the country.
In the end, I guess the hallmark of a decent dance movie is for those who don't know how to be enthusiastic and learn. The touchstone (for me as a dancer) of a great dance movie is to it makes me realize and re-affirm my love for dancing. This movie I guess does a fine job with the first and makes a good effort for the latter standard, but it could have been much more. And realizing how much more they could have done to raise the quality of the movie in general disappoints me the most. As it is, it's a movie to just cash in on a young demographic without much of a message other than, "Hey, we got Patrick Swayze!"
