MovieChat Forums > First Position (2012) Discussion > Miko's family (the Fogerty family)

Miko's family (the Fogerty family)

posted 11 years ago by dosgatosazules
23 replies | jump to latest

I haven't even finished the film yet and I already dislike them intensely.

1) Expensive private ballet lessons for their son, when he clearly doesn't have the talent or the desire to pursue it, seem to be more about their ego than his wishes or needs.

2) The mother's worry about her children becoming too fat, when in fact she should be consulting a doctor to be sure that 12-year-old Miko isn't endangering her health with her very slim figure.

And the worst, the most gallingly insensitive:

3) The family was tired of the daily commute from Palo Alto to Walnut Creek, California (a distance of 50 miles, and between 60 and 80 minutes depending on traffic) -- so they forced their entire workforce to endure that commute instead. (Or to relocate their entire families, so that the Fogertys wouldn't have to commute.)

[–] Annalissa 11 years ago

Yes, the family was very extreme. I knew right off the bat that the little boy had no desire to dance. I think he was pressured by his mother.

The young girl is very thin. In one of her performances you can see every rib. There is no light in her eyes. I feel sorry for her.

~Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!~

[–] hera-14 11 years ago

I disliked that family too. It seemed obvious the mother had her own ballet fantasy she was living out and was doing all of this for her rather than for her kids. I was glad to see the little boy had stopped taking lessons at the end.

One point though, I live just outside of Walnut Creek, CA and it takes 2 1/2 to even 3 hours to drive from Palo Alto to Walnut Creek during peak hours. I can completely understand relocating across the bay if I had to make that drive everyday. Whether or not it was cool of the father to move his office, it seems pretty crappy but you don't know what sort of office he has. A lot of his employees might work from home most days anyway or many of them might live in the east bay and have a shorter commute now. I think it's unfair to label the guy an insensitive creep based on that because we weren't shown any back story on that at all.

[–] dosgatosazules 11 years ago

I live in the Bay Area too, but I've never had to do that commute at peak hours; I had no idea it was that bad. My point is, I don't blame the family for not wanting to travel 60 minutes each way, but that if it's onerous for them, then why wouldn't they consider how onerous it might be for their workers? And even more so when we're talking 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

[–] say_y 10 years ago

I personally thought they were dramatic about the move. At tops it's a 60 minute commute. I've done it in 20 minutes. Part of the perks of working your butt off to run your own company is so that you can choose the location. It doesn't surprise me that they were trying to instill these same values in their children. We're they extreme? Yes. But I would have killed for a mother that had pushed and encouraged me to become a top athlete. Diablo ballet is, from what I have heard, one of the best schools in the bay. Or at least it has the most funding and connections I.e. money. We caught a glimpse of the financial investment a career training as a dancer can be. Parents driven to have crazy successful children are well crazy. A move or an expensive school, the best shoes... This is all normalcy.

[–] urtheonlytenisee 11 years ago

Not to mention that horrid teacher of theirs. He was such a jerk to the little boy. Total favoritism.

[–] slytherngirl 11 years ago

you guys are being reall dramatic. besides the last one about the commute i disagree with everything else. the boy wasnt being forced to do it, they let him quit didnt they? a child isnt going to ask you to put them inn ballet classes you have to make those dicisons for them until they are old enough to decide for themselves if they want to continue or quit. the girl isnt unhealthy she is thin but she is healthy because she has muscle you cant have muscle without nutrients and eating regularly. someone mentioned that the mom seems to be living through them, how can that be? she said she knew nothing about dance until after her kids began training.

theres nothing wrong with providing your kids with opportunities. thats how top athletes are made. i think parents who let their children become talentless and worthless are the bad parents.

[–] dosgatosazules 11 years ago

Slytherngirl,

For one thing, it is very difficult to even read a comment that's written without capitalization or the use of commas or other punctuation. It's like trying to have a conversation with someone who talks way too fast and in a monotone.

For another thing, I can't agree that having muscle tone means you must be eating regularly. That's contradicted by basic biology class, which I'm sure you have taken if you're old enough to be writing on the Internet.

[–] swtlilsonI 11 years ago

way to address everything else she said

[–] vilj-1 11 years ago

Great comment. I am glad you made it since I didn't have the inclination to argue or reason with those negative people that "hated" the family even before finishing viewing the documentary. Good for you!

[–] say_y 10 years ago

The teacher was a douche. I am glad they got at least a new stretching coach at the end.

[–] zolazona 11 years ago

Isn't it up to us to observe the characters in a story and not critique the characters within them? Ya know sit back and just watch what they do? The author in a novel knows why her characters drive the story and lets them be. A documentary producer records the actions of the characters she has elected to film and edits the good and the bad to make it interesting.

Dance families come in all sizes, but many of them have very focused mothers driving them on, especially with ballet. It is by nature a perfectionist's sport. Miko seems like she doesn't need ANYONE driving her. She is a gifted perfectionist in her own right.

The boy had some talent but wasn't gifted and didn't have the drive to stay in the class. So he moved on. How many of us have done the same thing?

[–] mergingarts 11 years ago

The boy was kind of a comic relief; he was more of an ordinary kid that was just copying his sister and the teacher knew that his heart and talents were not in dance...

[–] peeetabread 11 years ago

I felt really bad for him when he was spinning out of control and the coach just laughed at him. Keep it together man. You aren't supposed to laugh at your students, especially when they look so uncomfortable!

[–] puhzam 11 years ago

I agree, he was a nice kid who followed his sister.

Too bad the mother cried in disappointment when he decided to quit, that must have been terrible on the poor boy.

[–] filmfancy 11 years ago

And at the end we also learn that his mother is making him study very hard because she wants him to get into an Ivy League school. I don't think either of those kids could be 'normal'--too much pressure on them.

I really disliked the mother. Although she seemingly had the kids on a healthy diet it didn't seem like they ate very much, unlike the other older dancers who stated that they ate a lot because they burned it off dancing. The younger kids were growing after all, shouldn't they have been eating more? The mother only worried about them getting 'fat'--how could they get fat if they were always training/dancing anyway.

"And all the pieces matter" (The Wire)

[–] SMORacka 11 years ago

I agree. I know nothing about ballet but 10 seconds into watching him practice and I could tell he had ZERO desire to do this. He was OK, but that was via practice and you have to give him credit for that, but the kid was not going to get very good because he did not have the desire to do it and would never build the required skill. He knew what he knew and would give it his all during a performance, but he did not care for it and his mother should have seen it.

What was cruel and funny at the same time was the coach. This kid was just a paycheck to the guy and the guy couldn't care less about his feelings. He laughed hysterically at him, gave him backhanded compliments and the rolled his eyes throughout his performance while the proud mama looked on. Sorry, but I could not help laughing during those scenes. At least the boy was smart enough to understand the coach's 'compliments'.

[–] sarah_jeffrey96 11 years ago

Just a general comment from everyone, I come from a ballet background and know for a fact that yes, Miko is an excellent dancer. However going from results of international competitions such as the Prix De Lausanne, I know that there are even better dancers out there. Teachers are there to push the children and that is what they are paid to do. I recently watched a video on elite Vaganova Ballet Academy dancers and the dancers in their pre-professional company, and yes body image is a large part of it. We dance not because we want to, but because we have to. It is something that is ingrained in us and not dancing is worse than the pain of dancing on a bad day. For every bad day those kids are having, they've had 100 good ones. Competing is a fact of life and I think a lot of masterful editing has gone into different TV programs to stylise the nature of those National competitions. I don't want any of this to come across as rude, it is just my oppinion and something that I feel should be considered when it comes to talking about the ballet world.

[–] dr_gee79 10 years ago

Miko is painfully thin.

also she did Don Q's variation like that @ 12? amazing.

but most schools don't allow girls to start before 11. so i just wonder; when did Mike start pointe?

2) there're lot's of great schools & teachers in the SF south bay. i don't know why they have to go to Walnut Creek.

3) at the end the mother had Miko stretching like a contortionist. (she also stretched her son's leg) but dance is more than being flexible. methink she is a nut.

regards

[–] sarahcmcconnell 10 years ago

I completely agree. The Fogarty mother annoyed me intensely. A typical spoiled housewife controlling her children to keep herself entertained - and the father was almost worse.

Miko was painfully thin and a growing child, ballet dancer or not, should never be put on a no-fat diet. The other dancers ate healthy normal diets are were doing fine.