Dance with Me, January 23, 2007, my living room
Just when I happened to be homesick for Houston, this movie appeared in my mailbox (thanks, NetFlix!). Unbeknownst to me, the movie was both set and filmed in Houston, although there wasn't much of Houston to see in the film except the bus station downtown and the skyline from the west. It was left unexplained how the main character managed to travel to Houston from Cuba on a bus....
The plot in a nutshell: Rafael, played by the very tasty Chayanne, travels to Houston to meet his father John (Kris Kristofferson), who runs a foundering ballroom dance studio and has no idea of Rafael's existence. At the studio, Rafael meets professional Latin dancer Ruby (Vanessa Williams), with predicable results.
Ms. Williams does not quite dance up to professional standards, but she does a far more creditable job than JLo did in Shall We Dance. She dances in a competition with her former partner (played by Rick Valenzuela), and we get to see them do all the Latin dances except Jive, which would be understandably confusing as a Latin dance to the uninitiated. Again I notice it in the shoulders. I think perhaps what separates amateurs from professionals, stylistically speaking, is the ability to relax into the movement and let it flow.
This isn't a great movie, but it has its moments, many of which are supplied by the supporting actresses. Chayanne and actress Jane Krakowski dance a charming Cabaret number (as amateurs) that actually looks more professional than Ruby's dancing. Joan Plowright and Beth Grant add quite a bit of local color to the dance studio. And of course "that guy from ballroom on PBS" (Tony Meredith) added authenticity.
The plot in a nutshell: Rafael, played by the very tasty Chayanne, travels to Houston to meet his father John (Kris Kristofferson), who runs a foundering ballroom dance studio and has no idea of Rafael's existence. At the studio, Rafael meets professional Latin dancer Ruby (Vanessa Williams), with predicable results.
Ms. Williams does not quite dance up to professional standards, but she does a far more creditable job than JLo did in Shall We Dance. She dances in a competition with her former partner (played by Rick Valenzuela), and we get to see them do all the Latin dances except Jive, which would be understandably confusing as a Latin dance to the uninitiated. Again I notice it in the shoulders. I think perhaps what separates amateurs from professionals, stylistically speaking, is the ability to relax into the movement and let it flow.
This isn't a great movie, but it has its moments, many of which are supplied by the supporting actresses. Chayanne and actress Jane Krakowski dance a charming Cabaret number (as amateurs) that actually looks more professional than Ruby's dancing. Joan Plowright and Beth Grant add quite a bit of local color to the dance studio. And of course "that guy from ballroom on PBS" (Tony Meredith) added authenticity.
Labels: video review
posted by Silvershoes @ 5:43 PM
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