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Strictly Ballroom

Plot

This wildly off-beat comedy is about a male dancer (Paul Mercurio) who refuses to follow the accepted rules of ballroom dancing and creates his own style of choreography, which infuriates the ballroom dancing establishment. Before he's scheduled to compete in the Pan-Pacific ballroom championships, he's forced to take up a new partner (Tara Morice), a beginner who initially seems without promise. With his help, she turns into an assured and wonderful dancer. Baz Luhrmann's visual style may be too bright, gaudy and exaggerated for some tastes, yet he treats his characters with compassion, which makes Strictly Ballroom such an engaging comedy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Review

A charmingly packaged dose of camp irony, Strictly Ballroom is equal parts witty satire, contemporary storybook romance, and expertly choreographed music video. Directed with exceptional assurance by first-time director Baz Luhrmann, the film was a surprise international hit, winning over audiences and critics with its giddy blend of tongue-in-cheek humor and exhilarating dance sequences. It was arguably Australia's most popular export since Crocodile Dundee, sparking a new fad for ballroom dancing and winning cult status on both sides of the Pacific. Part of the film's appeal stemmed from its inventive ways of avoiding the pitfalls of its unapologetically familiar plot; in this conventional triumph-of-the-underdog/unlikely romance, Luhrmann didn't so much avoid the story's cliches as wallop them with knowing irony. More important in explaining the film's appeal, however, was its overwhelming sense of fun, and a genuine streak of mad exuberance. A paean to bucking the rules and following your heart, Strictly Ballroom is anarchy wrapped in gold lamé. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast

Paul Mercurio - Scott Hastings
Tara Morice - Fran
Bill Hunter - Barry Fife
Barry Otto - Doug Hastings
Pat Thompson - Shirley Hastings
Gia Carides - Liz Holt

Peter Whitford - Les Kendall; John Hannan - Ken Railings; Sonia Kruger-Tayler - Tina Sparkle; Pip Mushin - Wayne Burns; Armonia Benedito - YaYa; Michael Burgess - Merv; Peter Lynch - Extra: Kendall's Studio; Kris McQuade - Charm Leachman; John O'Connell - Try-out Coach; Leonie Page - Vanessa Cronin; Antonio Vargas - Rico; Jack Webster - Terry; Bob Adams - New Steps Family; Paul Bertram - J.J. Silvers

Credit

Faith Martin - Art Director, John O'Connell - Choreography, Catherine Martin - Costume Designer, Angus Strathie - Costume Designer, Baz Luhrmann - Director, Jill Bilcock - Editor, Antoinette Albert - Executive Producer, Jane Scott - Line Producer, David Hirschfelder - Composer (Music Score), David Hirschfelder - Musical Direction/Supervision, Catherine Martin - Production Designer, Steve Mason - Cinematographer, Tristram Miall - Producer, Jane Scott - Producer, Phil Judd - Sound/Sound Designer, Craig Pearce - Screenwriter, Baz Luhrmann - Screenwriter, Andrew Bovell - Screenwriter

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