Center Stage
2000 Directed by Nicholas Hytner
Synopsis
Life doesn't hold tryouts.
A group of 12 teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers and each one deals with the problems and stress of training and getting ahead in the world of dance.
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Yikes.
Let's be clear: I watched the film for two reasons. The first: I force my girlfriend to watch a lot of stuff she would otherwise have no interest in, and while she usually ends up liking it, it's only fair that I sometimes watch something of hers. The second: it has Jamiroquai and MJ on the soundtrack.
Truthfully I'm a big fan of dance, and dance on film, and I do think it's a great shame that dance and film so often don't mix. They can never seem to find the right balance of narrative to art. Sure there were those who could (namely, Bob Fosse) but for the most part if your dancing is great your narrative will…
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[Seen in 2000, not sure when, neglected to date stamp back then]
"So, these kids are studying at The Nazi School of Ballet in The Big City and the principle character finds that irregular dancing is the key to her improvement, right - - - and the whole thing is like a soap opera with Peter Gallagher, only we make it really widescreen and about thirty minutes too long. Any objections?"
Shouldn't an art imitates life melodrama set in the never-been-there-before world of ballet school and acted by nearly all unknowns be, I don't know, somewhat more colorful, somewhat less dull?
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Yikes.
Let's be clear: I watched the film for two reasons. The first: I force my girlfriend to watch a lot of stuff she would otherwise have no interest in, and while she usually ends up liking it, it's only fair that I sometimes watch something of hers. The second: it has Jamiroquai and MJ on the soundtrack.
Truthfully I'm a big fan of dance, and dance on film, and I do think it's a great shame that dance and film so often don't mix. They can never seem to find the right balance of narrative to art. Sure there were those who could (namely, Bob Fosse) but for the most part if your dancing is great your narrative will…
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Decent enough dancing, but completely lame story. Some bad acting, too.
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Some of the dancing is so fun to watch that it almost makes up for the acting of the young dancers, which is hard to watch.
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A MASTERPIECE. I loved it when the boys had a competition over who could do the fanciest jumps - "I am the best goddam dancer in the American Ballet Academy. Who the hell are you?! NOBODY!!!"
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Very cool performances gave this story life, especially Saldana's. :>
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Oh, yeah. That's right; I don't actually like ballet. (Also, the song selections are incredibly dated.)
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The actors, the characters, and the story work for me. It's no Black Swan or Fame, but worth a look.