Strictly Ballroom

Another Australian 'classic' with a good dose of cultural cringe thrown in.

Scott Hastings is the young son of ballroom champion dancers Bill and Shirley. He is on the verge of winning a huge competition with his partner Liz when he decides he is sick of the traditional way of ballroom dancing and throws in his own unique steps.
His mum, Liz and the ballroom officials are horrified and try to get him to dance traditionally. When he refuses, Liz decides to dance with a new partner and Scott's mum and officials continually try and change his mind and get him a new partner, so he can still win in the traditional style for the upcoming pan pacific championship.

Secretly though he begins dancing with Fran, an amateur in their spare time. She wants to dance his new steps at the competition. But will the federation accept their dancing style at the competition?

There's also a back story about his parents dancing and how his dad went against the ballroom community and his mum doesn't want Scott to make the same mistakes.

Like the so called sport itself, the film is over the top, cheesy with hilarious costumes. Released in 1992, and directed by Baz Luhrmann it features a lot of well known Australian actors like Bill Hunter and Barry Otto. The lead character Scott is played by a professional dancer named Paul Mecurio who is now more well known for being a judge on Dancing with the Stars, hosting a cooking show and releasing a cookbook.

I never released how similar it is in parts to Dirty Dancing. The teaching of the young inexperienced female to dance, the opposition from those older/in more power, the refusal to change from traditional steps and obviously the love story that develops between the two.

It's not all drama though: the scenes with Fran's foreign family, in particular her father and grandmother, who teach Scott their own traditional dancing and to dance from the heart are interesting and give Fran's character more scope. It show how her and Scott are both dealing with different traditional expectations on them.

If you like the style of Baz Lurhmanns films you will enjoy this in all its over the topness that is typical of his films. As much as I do like to mock ballroom dancing (in the same vein as synchronised swimming) I do appreciate their skill and wish I had one tenth of their co-ordination and grace.



I always crack up with these lines, the actress, Pat Thomson who played Scott's mum Shirley, sadly died before the film was released, but she just delivers it so well:

Shirley Hastings: And what about Les? He's taught you everything you know, and you're just throwing it back in his face!

Scott: I'm bored with it!
Shirley Hastings: I don't believe I'm hearing this! I've been with your father for twenty-five years! Do you think I get bored? Of course I do!





Scott's dad, played by Barry Otto: also more my style of dancing