Entrez dans la danse

TAKE THE LEAD (2006) *** Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco, Lyriq Bent, Brandon Andrews, Laura Benanti, Yaya DaCosta, Jenna Dewan, Elijah Kelley, Shawand Mckenzie, Marcus T. Paulk, Joseph Pierre, Katya Virshilas, Heidi von Palleske. "To Sir With Love" meets "Dance With Me" could've been the pitch for his entertaining melodrama based on the true-life account of Pierre Dulaine's (Banderas in one of his best performances) unorthodox method of communicating with Manhattan high school delinquents with teaching them ballroom dancing. While Dianne Houston's screenplay is riddled with clichés and formulaic storytelling, novice filmmaker Liz Friedlander, who cut her teeth on music videos, inhabits the film with a lot of style, panache and energy thanks largely to her unknown ensemble of willing young talent and stand-up and cheer moments including a ménage a trios tango that sizzles.