Mad Hot Ballroom (C- or 2/4 stars)
Dancing matters most to a group of children in 'Mad Hot Ballroom', a documentary directed by Marilyn Agrelo & written by Amy Sewell. The film tells the story of inner-city students in NYC elementary schools who learn ballroom dancing to keep out of trouble. We watch the students prepare, practice, and ultimately compete in a city-wide dance competition; following several schools through quarterfinal, semi-final & final action. Most of the kids are cute. I like the concept of the film. And I find some of their training to be interesting. But the movie gets tiresome rather quickly.
From day one, we are introduced to various children & the teachers who instruct them on proper etiquette, dress, and dance in categories such as rhumba, foxtrot, meringue, the tango, & swing. It's nice to see that particular children who have behavioral problems are no longer in the principals office after school. Instead, they're reining-in their bad behavior and placing focus on the dance floor. It is funny to watch most of the girls & boys' reactions as they pair up with their partners and try not to laugh in each others faces when they are supposed to be in serious mode. Over the course of the film, we see how much the kids improve as each week goes by. I enjoyed watching their progress. And I also was intrigued by how they reacted to learning about the different cultures via dancing.
Sprinkled throughout the film are several stand-out personalities who want to tell us about themselves. We hear about their rocky home life, thoughts on controversial school-age topics, which boys/girls they like, whom they 'hate'; how dance has been going. They even talk candidly about their divorced mommies & daddies; what they want to be when they grow-up, & most importantly, how to be successful in a city where so much can suppress them.
One of the few emotional scenes comes when a particular group of kids from one school does not make it past a quarterfinal section of competition. The children had worked very hard and were eager to take that next step into the semi-finals. But, alas, they were not chosen to go forward. The children cry & are confused as to why they 'aren't good enough'. Their school teacher breaks down & reassures her class that 'they did a great job, and she is so proud of them'. It was a touching moment. But as I said, it was one of the few engaging moments in this 105 minute long film.
Though after 20 min., I was wondering where else this film would take me. I had already seen some kids mouth-off, fool around, get serious, dance well, tell us about their life, etc. It made me chuckle here & there, but it's a redundant film that made me lose interest midway. I did not even care to find out who won the Finals. And another thing, the quality of the film was much in the vein of usual documentary pieces, but it seemed even more flat than usual. If you rent the film, make sure you have other choices of entertainment when the tape runs out; I felt a little gypped.
From day one, we are introduced to various children & the teachers who instruct them on proper etiquette, dress, and dance in categories such as rhumba, foxtrot, meringue, the tango, & swing. It's nice to see that particular children who have behavioral problems are no longer in the principals office after school. Instead, they're reining-in their bad behavior and placing focus on the dance floor. It is funny to watch most of the girls & boys' reactions as they pair up with their partners and try not to laugh in each others faces when they are supposed to be in serious mode. Over the course of the film, we see how much the kids improve as each week goes by. I enjoyed watching their progress. And I also was intrigued by how they reacted to learning about the different cultures via dancing.
Sprinkled throughout the film are several stand-out personalities who want to tell us about themselves. We hear about their rocky home life, thoughts on controversial school-age topics, which boys/girls they like, whom they 'hate'; how dance has been going. They even talk candidly about their divorced mommies & daddies; what they want to be when they grow-up, & most importantly, how to be successful in a city where so much can suppress them.
One of the few emotional scenes comes when a particular group of kids from one school does not make it past a quarterfinal section of competition. The children had worked very hard and were eager to take that next step into the semi-finals. But, alas, they were not chosen to go forward. The children cry & are confused as to why they 'aren't good enough'. Their school teacher breaks down & reassures her class that 'they did a great job, and she is so proud of them'. It was a touching moment. But as I said, it was one of the few engaging moments in this 105 minute long film.
Though after 20 min., I was wondering where else this film would take me. I had already seen some kids mouth-off, fool around, get serious, dance well, tell us about their life, etc. It made me chuckle here & there, but it's a redundant film that made me lose interest midway. I did not even care to find out who won the Finals. And another thing, the quality of the film was much in the vein of usual documentary pieces, but it seemed even more flat than usual. If you rent the film, make sure you have other choices of entertainment when the tape runs out; I felt a little gypped.