Take the Lead (2006)

Antonio Banderas
Rob Brown
Yaya Dacosta
Dante Basco
John Ortiz
Alfre Woodard

Directed by Liz Friedlander

Plot: Pierre Dulaine is a Manhattan ballroom teacher and competitor who volunteers his time to teach ballroom dancing to a group of New York inner city high school kids. Initially forced to participate as a form of detention, the kids reject Mr. Dulaine's efforts until his unwavering commitment and dedication finally inspires them to embrace the program, infusing it with their own unique hip-hop style while subconsciously learning valuable life lessons about pride, respect, self-esteem and honor.

Review: Here is another film that my fiancÈ begged me to go see at the theater. I somehow talked my way out of it and was able to wait until DVD. It’s not that I dislike Antonio Banderas, I love him in action movies, but never been a big fan of his serious roles. This movie just didn’t appeal to me, but since I already had it, I figured why not.

The movie is nothing really special, but is enjoyable. Although I prefer Antonio in the action film, I was glad to just see him in something. He did a pretty good job in this film, but I still prefer the action Antonio. The story is good, but it is just a rehash of a story that has been used a dozen times. The rest of the cast was good and played their parts well. The highlight of this film is obviously the dance sequences. It looks as though the actual cast did most, if not all, themselves and it looked really good. My only real issue with the film is the ending. I felt it was somewhat unbelievable the way the dancing situation played out. (Not the contest, but after….you decide) If you like movies like Save the Last Dance, you will enjoy this film.
 

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