Take The Lead

Take the Lead


By:Tanner Phillips
Pierre Dulaine, played in "Take the Lead" by Antonio Banderas, is a world-ranked ballroom dancer who, after witnessing an act of vandalism at an inner-city high school, volunteers to teach ballroom dance to the students as a way of instilling a little self-discipline and respect for others.

Banderas plays Dulaine as a suave, affable guy, who charms the school's dedicated and skeptical principal (Alfre Woodard) into taking him up on his offer. But there's a catch: She needs someone to supervise the rowdiest kids in school, all of whom are serving after-school detention for the rest of the semester. If he can work with them, he can stay.

As you'd expect, the students don't take too kindly to Dulaine's moves, or to his music. But after he pulls out all the stops by dancing a provocative number with a leggy dance student, the students start to embrace Dulaine and his teachings, even blending their hip-hop sensibilities with his old-school methods to create a style all their own.

Take The Lead was a great idea inspired by a true story, which just didn't write out and play out as well as the early vision of the film probably did. I was unimpressed with the quality of the dance scenes, and the music. None of it was bad by any means, it was quite entertaining, however, I only said to myself out loud, "wow, that was awesome!" maybe once.

Though the storyline is familiar to all of us in one way or another, it still manages to somehow lose itself in a maze of fluffy side plots. I thought there were too many plot threads unresolved in the choppy, semi chaotic finale. I was expecting the predictable uplifting climax to emerge and disperse happiness among the awaiting audience; yet it never seemed to come.

There seems to be no sports-movie cliche, or a teen-drama conceit, or ugly-duckling moral that scenarist Dianne Houston and director Liz Friedlander have failed to resurrect for "Take the Lead"; audiences could quite easily narrate the story themselves as it unfolds.

Simply put Take the Lead was not written or directed as well as it could have been. That said however, It turned out to be a worthwhile movie, that I would maybe even see again in the distant future. However, from the overall film quality aspect of things; it just seemed to have missed a step. Or maybe even two.