I really liked this movie, up to the ending. The ending was horrific. I can tolerate a bad ending when a writer works himself into a corner, you can typically see it coming. However, with this one, there were multiple ways to end the movie. They could have won (I'm guessing not real), lost (too tragic for the producers, IMO), lost and taken the class elsewhere, etc., but there was simply no ending on this movie. Frankly, I would have given it an 8 or a 9 until the ending, because I was enjoying the ride. But the ending, or lack thereof, knocked it down to a 5 or 6 for me.
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beck_willis
17 years ago
The ending could've been better, like most people have said. I loved the rest of them film though.
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teacher_tom516
16 years ago
I'm with them - I loved most of the movie but I didn't really like the ending mainly because it was errrm 'unrealistic' in that people in a formal ballroom competition wouldn't sit still for what they did, pulling the plug and playing their remixes. It jumps into this 'fantasy' world, shifting gears all of a sudden into this make believe world where all music and all dance is all right in that context. Don't get me wrong I don't think that ballroom dance or ballroom music is somehow 'culturally higher' than hiphop or whatnot but in that context it would have been unacceptable. It's as if you were watching 'Dangerous Minds' or 'Dead Poets Society' and Shrek and Co. walked on stage and started belching and dancing. It's a fantasy ending tacked on to what was heretofore a pretty 'realistic' film. If you're gonna end it fantastically you need to establish it as a fantasy from the start - like Baz Luhrmann does in Strictly Ballroom (Cinderella/Ugly Duckling story - thru use of camerawork and editing and mise en scene he establishes it as a fantasy) so even a fantastic ending works. Here it's all ghetto and uplifting inspirational realism and suddenly it ends on a fantastic note - it's jarring.
Tom516
"It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons."
- Pierre Rissient
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milesnmiles77
16 years ago
This is one of those movies that you knew how it was going to play out from the beginning. Granted this theme is played out, but I did enjoy the film somewhat up until then ending where the guy plugs his ipod into the sound system and changes the music to hip hop.
In Banderas's speech to the PTA he was going on and on how the ballroom dancing was teaching the youngsters to be respectfull to others. Taking over the sound system at the end was totally disrespectful to the event planners, and everyone involved. You may think the music is boring, but you are a guest (representing your teacher) and it is not your event to take over. The fact that they showed Banderas' character with the "boys will be boys" smile on his face really did not fit the bill of what he was supposedly trying to teach the children through the dancing lessons.
This may be shock to pop culture but not everything in this world needs a hip-hop twist to it. Some groups, activities, events, are very happy with the way they are and celebrate their traditions. So many movies these days end with a group scene of a bunch of old white people abandoning their traditions to (due to a lack of a better analogy) "get jiggy with it." There is not a damn thing racist about my comments either. I can't speak for all groups but I have danced for eastern european song/dance festivals and the traditions are the basis of the event, and if soemthing like this happened people would not be receptive to change.
If this ending had happened in real life, I can only imagine how many people would have abandoned that competition in the future due to the disrespect to their traditions. The movie would have been far better if they just had lost the last roll of film that they shot on.
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chocolatechipash
16 years ago
bored me *beep* so yeah it was pretty bad in my opinion and i agree with you about the ending it was so lame it didnt seem to wrap up anything. it left me feeling empty and bored - the chorry was quite good though but the characters just bored me, they really didnt have much depth i didnt feel anything while watching this so i sort of agree with what the O.P [original poster] said.
also one person mentioned the O.P was racist..? how?
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KennethMcBrayer
16 years ago
Okay movie but a bit unrealistic. Maybe I missed something here but I have never known of H.S students being in detention for that length of time. It had to have been weeks. Furthermore, they had to have done the exact misdeed to have all been present each day. Seems to me that at least 2 or 3 would have been dismissed after 3 or 4 days.
I don't think the OP's post was racist at all. I've worked at several inner city schools as an administrator and a teacher. So has my wife and it is so hard to reach students who all their young lives had to struggle just to stay whole and alive. I think he was speaking primarily in terms of behavior and not race. Sure we want at risk students to behave a certain way but if you haven't been taught much at home other than how to survive the streets that can make one really hostile and act out as these students often did. They are intelligent and want a way out yet they are often hostile and angry. Students must be taught how to cope and that is what Mr. Dulain tried to do. He met them where they were and worked to make a difference without judging them.
The ending was pretty much undecided. That took away from the story line a great deal. In reality, the change from ballroom dancing to ballroom/freestyle/hip-hop dancing would never have been allowed at a competition such as this. It was disruptive to say the least.As was the entire film, I believe it was merely for entertainment.
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