Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance

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.

I watched Razzle Dazzle today not knowing much about it before hand, and therefore not having any great expectations. I love a good mockumentary, and if I had to compare it to any other, I would say it was in the same vein as "Drop Dead Gorgeous". But of course it had that Australian flavour to it which therefore meant the characters were a bit more relatable for me. Kerry Armstrong was wonderful as a pushy stage mother. This role could easily have gone into cliché but Kerry is such a good actress that she manages to get you to almost (only almost) fully understand her motives. Of course her daughter Tenille doesn't need to be pushed too hard, she wants it just as much. In contrast to Justine and Tenille, Nadine Garner's character of young Grace's mother is more of an interested outsider. She encourages her daughter, but it is Grace who is much more motivated and has the desire. The characters of Mr Jonothan and Miss Elizabeth are also complete contrasts - one is nurturing, the other a harsh task master. Miss Elizabeth also has the best cat's bum face I've ever seen. Denise Richards as Barbara the serial foster mother is a riot, while I didn't even recognise Tara Morice until the credits... but I did enjoy her rendition of "Gold".

Overall, the film was gently over the top, which I feel is the point of mockumentaries, while simultaneously making us feel for the characters. Razzle Dazzle is well written and very well acted. Good job.

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.

Few is the correct adjective which describes my viewing and experience with mockumentaries. Next in line is the fact that you don't get too many highly acclaimed Australian movies which literally dazzle all us couch-spectators. Such were the facts, experiences up my sleeve with this section of flicks, which propelled my mindset into the "must-see" mode. And there I was, curiously seated in front of the big screen.

In a matter of a few minutes, it was apparent that the movie was so cleverly pre-wired to drag us into the sea of illusion that we were dealing with actual facts and figures that go behind the scenes in the Australian dance hype. It was only because of my high alert mode, that I kept on reminding myself that this was not real....only FICTION! For starters, this flick smacks of the determination, both mutual and individual, which the key characters subject themselves to, in order to play a role in the everyday competition saga which, it goes without saying, regularly repeats itself. Three categories of key-players in this game: the teachers, the students, and the parents, warrant themselves a lot of merit. For instance, not only do the children get on board, but their parents, pro-actively, push them towards the dance floor. It's an amazing game of desperation, commitment,effort by all parties involved.

An eye-catching performance which steals the majority of the show is Mr. Jonathan. Crude? Clandestine? Do or die? Or determination verging on hysteria? Amazing how he tries to mold the mindset of his students in the bud, by asking them to imagine all sorts of shocking/horrific scenes, and making them fill in the action/reaction gaps through their dance steps.

Good job Darren Ashton. We need more from you coming. And thanks for spicing up the scenes with such great tracks!