Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance

What a terrific movie. An Aussie success. Kerry Armstrong deserves the highest accolades as do all the kids doing the dancing. Mister Jonathan may not get the top prize but he gets points for showing the audience that dance is not always a love story but can be used to convey the darker side of world issues. Passion is messy and cringing sometimes but the director and writers handle the edge between drive and madness with soft eyes.

Sydney film locations included a historic building in Parramatta and Justine's home in Northwest of Sydney. Unexpected bonus: Imagine my delight when I recognized Justine's home as one designed by friends - Indigo and Ochre, Architects based in Sydney. The slightly over the top house matched Justine's character perfectly.

1 word- FABULOUS. not your average movie at all! Razzle Dazzle is an Australian based movie but a fake documentary. It is so full of unexpected jokes and wise cracks. i found it wonderful.

Only 1 thing some people i complained about was the fuzziness in the beginning. I think it was just a bit of an affect and made no damage to the movie. Ben Miller is great in this movie but it was Kerry Armstrongs act as a pushy stage mother that had me in tears. She is just so into her character in the movie. She tries to make her daughter seem the best in front of others and tells her off for each little mistake. What i found most funny was the fact she took her daughter in for a nose job (which of course didn't happen) and complained how she might end up with her fathers nose.

Though the concept of the movie is based on what happens in the homes and studios of the children, the main focus is the competition. They compete in a style of dance telling a story.

I recommend this movie for people whom enjoy dancing and comedies.

What a great little film....This won't win Oscars or any other film award, but it will make you chuckle at the characters some of whom we all know in real life. What parent hasn't had the (mis)fortune to be part of ballet classes, whether it be classical, modern, tap or contemporary. Every week the little darlings don their leotards and ballet shoes and go along and join their other little friends and teacher Miss Denise (an ageing, usually overweight woman who shouldn't really wear a body hugging anything, but does. Every week she puts the kiddies through their steps, until the dreaded "End of year Dance Extravaganza" arrives. Parents fork out a lot of money to put their kids through dance class, then more money on costumes, buying the DVD, buying the music etc...all for 3 minutes on stage. This movie looks at it all, with hilarious consequences. Starring some of the best performers in Australian theatre, TV, cabaret and movies. A must see....it's awesome!!!!!

Razzle Dazzle makes us laugh at ourselves. No really! Darren Ashton (director) chooses his feel-good mockumentary on competitive dance in Australia to show realistic characters. And the audience can't help but laugh at our immature look on life - our competitive nature! Kerry Armstrong and Ben Miller are wonderfully cast as pushy stage mum Justine and dance visionary Mr Jonathon. Quirky yet significant lines show what's really happening in the arts (both adult and child perspective). The film even makes a crack on the plight of Afghani women. This has to be one of the first films that has been able to make me laugh uncontrollably at some parts of the film and think and question the character of humanity in others. It revolves around family so basically is good for any age. It really is a journey on dance - from the beginning, we're all connected to the characters and we want Mr Jonathon's dance school to win. We watch their journey progress and fold. Loved every minute of it! Denise Roberts as Barbara was funny too. She was my fav. character!

Highly recommended! * * * * *

Yes. I, rooprect, am offering a money-back guarantee with this film. That's how confident I am that you'll think it's funny.

When I saw this for $4 in the Blockbuster used pile, the DVD cover wasn't very convincing nor were the reviews on the back which made it sound like an ABC afterschool special. I figured it would be a dud. But since I'd never seen an Australian film & I like Australian accents, I figured it would be a decent way to kill an hour & a half.

2 minutes into it, I LOL'd. A few minutes later I LMAO'd. And when they said that line about Brandon Lee, I actually ROFL'd. The gags kept coming, and at one point I thought to myself there's no way they could keep up the pace without becoming absurd. But somehow they managed to deliver laughs throughout AND also develop some very interesting characters and an engaging story with some super cool dance moves & super cute girls (not to mention 1 boy who's such an amazing dancer it'll make you want to try a backflip or two).

It's hard not to compare this film to "Spinal Tap", "Mighty Wind" and the other great mockumentaries by Christopher Guest because the format is very similar. But Razzle Dazzle is refreshing enough that you'll never think of it as a Guest ripoff, even though it fits right in. What makes it so refreshing? The extras.

Yes, the real stars of this film are the young, 11-13 year-old girls who play the dancers in this misfit dance troupe. They don't say a lot of lines, but whenever they're on camera their expressions & reactions are so hilarious you'll find yourself rewinding to watch them again in the background. In the "Making Of" featurette on the DVD, the director said he achieved this by not telling the girls the script beforehand, so their reactions are 100% genuine. There was also quite a bit of ad-libbing. The result is pure comedic perfection.

The adult actors were great themselves. Each person plays a caricature of reality but they do it so convincingly that you never stop to think you're being had. There's a loser, a spaz, a bitch, a clueless mom, and a weird goth chick in one of the funniest non-speaking roles I've seen. Really, everyone did a fantastic job. I think this is one of the greatest examples of deadpan humour I've seen in a long time.

I can't believe only 340 IMDb people have voted on this film to date. "Razzle Dazzle" definitely gets my vote for the best undiscovered gem in the last 10 years.