MovieChat Forums > Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance (2007) Discussion > Best pseudo-documentary in a long time

Best pseudo-documentary in a long time

posted 14 years ago by Strausszek
2 replies | jump to latest

I've never had anything to do with dancing classes but this is a gem of a film: by turns funny, moving, revealing, ironic and exciting (you could point to any number of moments, but especially the competitions - behold the facials and voices of the judges, dancers and parents). Lovely photography too, even though the subject invites great scenes they've avoided overdoing ít with lots of lighting effects, star filter and stuff like that. Actually, when I caught it on tv (missed the first ten minutes) I thought it was a documentary about the real thing, and I'm sure it's not that far from what it can be like sometimes: it brings out certain things that people would likely not be this open about in a real documentary on this competitive branch.

Even people like Mr. Jonathon are around in the world of dancing, you can be sure - and unlike some others here I don't feel he's a dumbass or a leftover from some bygone era. He clearly understands kids and takes them seriously at the same time. And the amount of dedication and hard effort involved comes through everywhere in the film.

At the audition I had to karaoke to "Smoke On The Water". I was 45. A very lonely experience.

[–] rooprect 14 years ago

This was the funniest surprise I've had in a long time. I wasn't expecting much at all, but good golly it made me lol my ass off.

In addition to all the points you mentioned, I loved the hilarious expressions & reactions from the young girls. In the "Making Of" extra, the director said he didn't tell them the script beforehand, so their reactions were completely authentic. So funny, like when Ben Miller says he's going to electrocute Snowball, or when he's explaining the oppression of the working class. The girls' expressions are priceless. There's also some great ad-libbing, like the scene where Tenille & her mom are arguing over the "punching" dance sequence.

I thought each actor did a great job of presenting an outlandish caricature without losing us in absurdity. Everything was believeable, which made the gags even funnier. Gawd, when Ben Miller, with a straight face, said that line about Brandon Lee I blew out my appendix laughing.

Best comedy I've seen in a long time. I can't believe I'd never heard of it before. I just happened to stumble on it at Blockbuster's $4 used pile & picked it up because I'd never seen an Aussie flick before.

[–] felbartlett 11 years ago

" I thought it was a documentary about the real thing, and I'm sure it's not that far from what it can be like sometimes: it brings out certain things that people would likely not be this open about in a real documentary on this competitive branch.
Even people like Mr. Jonathon are around in the world of dancing, you can be sure - and unlike some others here I don't feel he's a dumbass or a leftover from some bygone era."

Have you seen the show Dance Moms?? If anyone thinks that someone like Mr Jonathon couldn't possibly exist in real life, I give you Abby Lee Miller, complete with bizarre dance themes (eg Diary of Anne Frank and being a patient in a Mental Hospital) and taking herself WAAAAY too seriously!!! And just like in Razzle Dazzle, Dance Moms is full of the behind-the-scenes politics between parents who want their child to be the star and don't care whose child gets stepped over in the process and sneaky tricks, like poaching boy dancers from rival dance companies.
So, yeah, Razzle Dazzle being a psuedo-documentary is possibly closer to the truth than you think.