Let It Be Me

Love this little film, that reminds me somewhat of the original Japanese gem, SHALL WE DANCE? (not the overblown Gere/Jlo remake...) Luckily I found it and taped it when it was showing on a STARZ Promo Weekend, because as far as I know, it's not available on DVD. I'll watch just about anything with Yancy Butler (anyone remember the short-lived TV series MANN AND MACHINE ???) in it, and she positively shines in this. She does a dance routine to a disco song that is verrrryyyyyy HOT!! Loved all the other characters in it, especially the ones played by Patrick Stewart and Leslie Caron (where's she been all these years?). This is one of those films that I take out from time to time and always come away smiling after watching it. Recommended highly!!!

This has got to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It just came on German television (never made it to the cinemas), and was one of those movies that you watch totally flabergasted, wondering what the makers were thinking when they first realised how bad the movie they were working on is and why they didn't stop there and then. One also has to wonder why the movie has no plot. Brief outline:

Boring guy passes a dance place, decides to learn to dance. Learns to dance there, becomes really good, meets charismatic dance teacher and fat guy. Gets on everybody's nerves because he's dancing all the time. Takes his fiance to the dance place where she meets her ex-dance partner from high school, who just happens to be the boyfriend/husband of the boring guy's dance instructor. In between all of this, Patrick Steward, who is also a dance instructor, falls in live with an older student and they get married at the end. As do the boring guy an his fiance but only after several "steamy" scences b/t the boring guy and his dance teacher and his fiance and the husband of the dance instructor. What really disappointed me was that there was no big state-wide dance competion that the boring guy and his wife win in the end. Can't have everything, I guess.

Only groteque fascination allowed me to watch all of this movie. Oh: the German titel is: "Flirty Dancing"!

Why is there such a sharp division of opinion on this charming movie? I suspect because it is a "difficult" romantic comedy. In almost all romantic comedies, it's clear from the credits which couples will end up with each other. The male and female leads are destined to be paired, as are the secondary male and female stars, and the pleasure lies in seeing the couples correctly sorted out after a lot of confusion. In "Let It Be Me," the only absolutely perfect pairing is that of third leads Patrick Stewart and Leslie Caron. It's a very close question whether the engaged couple, Campbell Scott and Jennifer Beals, and the dance studio partners, James Goodwin and Yancey Butler, are really destined for each other or whether they should change partners and dance. "Some people just belong together," Beals says, but which people is a harder question to answer here than in most comedies, though it is satisfactorily answered by the ending.

If you loved "Dirty Dancing" you'll enjoy this movie; both were written by Eleanor Bergstein.

Heartwarming story about three couples at a dance studio. Perfectly cast. Jamie Goodwin and Yancy Butler make a stunning dance team. Patrick Stewart with an American accent (!) and the ever graceful Leslie Caron. Jennifer Beals, in a surprisingly conservative role, and the dashing Campbell Scott, as the confused groom-to-be.

The bar scenes between Gabriel and Jordan, are hilarious.

The score is lively, the dance sequences beautiful. It's an uplifting movie! Made me want to go out and take lessons, myself.

My first impulse upon stumbling onto this was to wonder how I hadn't until now. It quite seems to me as though a movie starring Patrick Stewart AND Yancy Butler, both favorites of mine, should have crossed my radar sooner - let alone Jennifer Beals and Campbell Scott, and to say nothing of the fact that it comes to us from Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote essential 80s classic 'Dirty dancing.' Once we start watching, the choreography is lovely, and I like the original music and the assembled soundtrack; the hair and makeup artists mostly did fantastic work, and the costume designer. All the ingredients are here for a swell romantic drama, even if the thrust of the narrative is familiar. At the same time, it doesn't take long to start to feel as though something is a little off, and one begins to understand why 'Let it be me' hasn't been more visible. It's not that this is concretely bad, yet there are just enough peculiarities to weigh it down that it strains to achieve the heights that would really let it shine.

To be clear, the dancing really is terrific, and it's an especial joy to see these stars cut loose - in my opinion, Butler specifically, since she has tended to be in thrillers, action flicks, or horror titles more than features kin to this one. I think it's well made, with some fine ideas in the screenplay; we get some light comedy to complement more than enough drama to meaningfully propel the narrative. Matters become more murky from there, however, in too many ways. Each star in and themselves are a joy; it's not for nothing that I've singled out the players as having grabbed my attention, and we all know well what they're capable of. Here, unfortunately, by whatever set of circumstances, they just don't have any chemistry. They share scenes, but no heat; the passion is purely for pretend, and isn't felt by the audience, and I wonder if the cast felt it, either. As much as I always enjoy seeing Stewart anywhere I can, the B-plot here in which he figures is not integrated smoothly into the picture, and it comes across like an addition that was stitched on at the last minute to either emptily pad out the length, or lend further star power to the production. And speaking of Stewart, the decision to affix false hair to his brilliant noggin seems downright bizarre - a decision that's as off-putting as the near-identical hair styling for the two primary male actors (Scott and James Goodwin), as well as a supporting actor, all three of whom already look quite alike as it is.

Too many scenes, too much dialogue, and a lot of the plot development feels rushed, and kind of hollow. In addition to that dubious B-plot, there are other story ideas that are broached too curtly or incompletely. In the broadest of strokes the writing is just fine in every regard, and satisfying; I'm happy to say it even breaks free to some small degree of what seems like perfect predictability. Yet it never feels entirely balanced. For all this, 'Let it be me' never achieves any substantial spark, neither one that is identifiable relative to this film alone, nor in comparison to Bergstein's major claim to fame. For all this, the levity and the more serious moments alike rarely feel heartfelt and impactful as much as merely awkward. Ninety minutes somehow feel too long.

Please understand, I do actually like this! I'm glad that I watched, and I had a good time. It's pleasant, and ultimately warmhearted; I appreciate the work that everyone put into it, and to reiterate, the cast are a delight by one means or another. Only - nothing comes together the way that it should. If ever there was a title that felt like Swiss cheese, at once technically whole yet also less than, I'm not sure there could be a better example. I'd love to say that I like this more than I do - I want with all my heart to speak more positively of it - but still the end result struggles to rise above "average." There is, after all, a reason I've not really found out about this except by happenstance. It's not a bad way to spend ninety minutes, and if you're a diehard fan of someone involved it might still earn a recommendation more than not. All the same, it's so uneven, and perhaps undercooked despite generally capable craftsmanship, that it's hard to particularly suggest it otherwise. Don't go out of your way, and save it for a lazy day, and maybe 'Let it be me' will fit the bill just so. Do also temper your expectations, however.