I didn't know how to take this movie at first. It almost looked like it was mocking the very idea of a serious dance competition, in much the same way that "Little Miss Sunshine" cast an utterly suspicious eye on the whole concept of beauty contests for little girls. It looked like director Baz Luhrman was taking a shot at every single character in the movie, and in a way I guess he was, because when things settled out, the superficial characters were all put in their place and the couple that remained true to their ideals were the last pair left standing. Interestingly, dancers Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) and partner Fran (Tara Morice) weren't very charismatic when it came to performing their routines, but because they were freewheeling it so to speak, they happened to stand out among the rest of their competitors. Personally, I didn't find their style to be all that antithetical to what the rigid judges expected. You would think a little innovation would have been welcomed instead of having every couple adhere to a narrowly defined dancing structure.
What I liked best about the picture was the back story of Scott's father (Barry Otto), who's own career was derailed when he attempted to do what his own son was was trying to accomplish using his own style. With the entire dynamic of Doug Hastings' career and relationship with his wife (Pat Thomson) put into perspective, it wasn't much of a stretch to figure out that Scott would make up his mind, in the words of Barry Fife (Bill Hunter), to 'do the right thing'. Ultimately, for Doug and son Scott, "...it was the dancing that mattered".
As a quick aside, I was constantly kept distracted by the appearance of champion dancer Ken Railings (John Hannan) in the picture. More so in the beginning of the film, because whenever he took to the dance floor he looked the spitting image of pro wrestler Ric Flair, and under the circumstances, I expected that whenever he completed one of his flourishing dance moves, he would come out with a loud and glorious "Whoo"!
What I liked best about the picture was the back story of Scott's father (Barry Otto), who's own career was derailed when he attempted to do what his own son was was trying to accomplish using his own style. With the entire dynamic of Doug Hastings' career and relationship with his wife (Pat Thomson) put into perspective, it wasn't much of a stretch to figure out that Scott would make up his mind, in the words of Barry Fife (Bill Hunter), to 'do the right thing'. Ultimately, for Doug and son Scott, "...it was the dancing that mattered".
As a quick aside, I was constantly kept distracted by the appearance of champion dancer Ken Railings (John Hannan) in the picture. More so in the beginning of the film, because whenever he took to the dance floor he looked the spitting image of pro wrestler Ric Flair, and under the circumstances, I expected that whenever he completed one of his flourishing dance moves, he would come out with a loud and glorious "Whoo"!