Razzle Dazzle

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!!!!!

Regardless of tragedies happening globally our personal lives will always take precedence.

Disasters happen. Mayhem abounds. But stubbing your toe will supercede all. T'is part of the human condition.

In Razzle Dazzle, an excellent comedy, dance dominates the characters lives.

Their raison d'etre, their whole rationale, superficially presented as terpsichorean.

In truth, of course, there's far more involved - Egos, ambitions, needs and wants.

The setting's no more than a convenient device. We all take ourselves too seriously.

The deadpan delivery of patent absurdities. The self deception and lack of awareness.

All these conspire to raise a chuckle along with a certain empathic engagement.

You'll quickly forget it's a mocumentary. Mr. Jonathon's real - He's out there somewhere.

Names may change. Locations differ. A mirror might well prove useful.

Delightful, quite funny mockumentary in the vein of Christopher Guest, especially 'Waiting For Guffman'. If this isn't quite as surreally inventive or hysterically funny as that modern classic, it makes up for it with a great sense of good cheer, a dose of humanity between all the absurdity, and a terrific lead performance from Ben Miller as a deeply self-delusional dance teacher.

It's all about dance school competitions between different groups of pre-adolescent girls. Miller plays Mr. Jonathon, who not only desperately wants to finally win, but also to make political statements by staging dances based on issues like the Kyoto Climate Protocols. This leads to some extremely funny sequences as we see these little girls dancing about some of the most un-dance-able concepts imaginable. The dialogue is witty, the supporting performances generally very strong (the one weakness is that some of the supporting 'types' lampooned are a bit too familiar and easy targets), and the choreography is great - just off enough to be extremely amusing.

I was very glad I took a chance on this, and picked up a DVD copy on a friend's recommendation.

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.

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! * * * * *