Il ballo proibito

J. Eddie Peck smolders as Kevin Laird, a high school math teacher who lives in 2 worlds, the Beverly Hills school where he teaches and the east LA world where he came from. Delicious to watch, the dance scenes with the pulsing sexual undercurrents showcase J. Eddy Peck's attributes beautifully as does a voyeristic butt shot as he writes on the blackboard in front of his Beverly Hills class. The classic themes are all here: there are no bad kids they're just misunderstood (West Side Story), we have more in common that we have differences, acceptance of diversity, you can't judge a book by it's cover. This movie will entertain, it has music, dancing, competition, overcoming obstacles, family values and a happy ending. Great date movie.

Cross-pollination of "Stand and Deliver" with "Dirty Dancing" is jaw-droppingly misguided. Beverly Hills math teacher, who struts his stuff at night in a barrio club, gets involved with under-privileged kids and gives them lessons on how to Lambada--a hot new Latin dance! Moronic junk is almost endearingly bad...almost. It features uncharismatic leads, soapy melodrama, generic club music, and teeth-gnashing dialogue. It does attempt an offbeat approach to a formula plot, but that is the only positive thing one can really say about it.

* from ****

This movie was terrible in so many ways. I can't believe that the writers and directors got away with churning out this crap. What started as a love story between teacher and student turns suddenly and painfully towards a stay-in-school moral. Not bad if perhaps you were forced to watch this in school instead of studying, but not even worth watching on TV.

But the music was filled with some decent typical 80s moments... especially whenever the music took over. And although you might think that JLo was in this movie after seeing it, you won't find her anywhere in the movie or in the credits.

Im in mixed minds. When I was 16 (Im now 37!) I adored this film, mainly for the dancing by unknown dancers. They weren't famous yet they were brilliant. Also the whole Latina/Latino thing which Im slightly obsessed with, Hispanic culture hasn't come to the UK so it all seems exotic to me. Now I watch it, and Im more critical... the kids seem way too old - younger people should have been cast. The story line isn't great, nor the script writing. Its sad that as we mature we're naturally so critical of everything instead of enjoying it. Id like to see this remade but with a sharper script, better actors but still the same sort of dancing, I'd love to know who taught them.

Everything here is so preposterous to even take it seriously. If you try to make the synopsis, even that sounds like the deranged ramblings of someone very high in powerful 80's colombian produce, if you catch my drift LOL... Maybe that's how this was pitched and greenlit back then, who knows?

Unlike The Forbbiden Dance there are here more production values: a bigger cast, more dancing pros, a not-so-bad OST, but still, let's see what happen here: a guy who is high school teacher by day an THE Lambada-king at night (and happen to be mexican-born too) left his wife and kid in a daily basis, to go and keep his talents working only to be discovered by one of his students (a Melora Hardin that look here very into her 20's) and use that brazilian dance as learning tool for a bunch of East LA kids that want to learn computer programming. HAHAHA! No, REALLY...

Like there was a script ready for a movie about an awesome and cool teacher (like Stand and Deliver or Lean on Me) but when the lambada fad (and the colombian produce) kicked in the suits at charge decided to make a movie about it putting all into the blender.

Melora Hardin is HOT in here, and I suppose the dancing teacher isn't that bad looking either.

This is the kind of flick to watch when there is nothing else, for fun and giggles.

Kinda recommend it.