Baila Comigo

I loved the movie. I hope you get a chance to see it and it comes to your area. Its a great life story. John Goodman plays a man who is trying to return to his childhood girlfriend. Robert Carlyle finds him in his hour of need, and agrees to meet the childhood girlfriend for him

Robert Carlyle and Marisa Tomei are so wonderful together. The story of their meeting and falling and love is very romantic.

Mary Steenburgen is outstanding in her role as the dance instructor.

And Donnie Wahlberg steals the movie with his character.

Its a movie filled with outstanding actors. And a very touching and moving story. With great childhood stories.

saw it last nite at a complimentary screening. it was well worth seeing if only for robert carlyle's performance alone! he was absolutely extraordinary! i found mary steenburgen very affected, though, & was consciously aware that she was acting! i can't understand all the positive comments about her performance in this movie, though i absolutely adore her in other things (she was so great in joan of arcadia on TV, for example). i liked the interweaving of past & present & the way story lines played out & were connected eventually. it was well told. it integrated pathos with humor & had many unexpected touches. some of the acting was like caricature - e.g., donny wahlberg's, & i did not enjoy that type of aspect whenever it occurred. but on the whole i felt this was a well crafted film of value and substance. i'm glad i saw it.

The film's use of two voices relaying three narrative threads, artfully woven without confusion while maintaining audience interest and focus, could be used as a textbook for compound story structure. If the story hadn't been expanded from a short film thereby requiring this approach, I'd be heaping superlative praise on its inventiveness as well.

Entertaining, well-cast with excellent performances by its ensemble of seasoned character actors, and just quirky enough to offset its sometimes saccharin character, I think this will grow a deserved following when it airs on cable. A solid illustration of the possibility of 'charm' in contemporary cinema, it presented little violence beyond its illustration of an automobile accident site and the language of adolescent boys, and managed a passionate but never prurient love scene under cover of a liberal dusting of flour.

Enchanting!

Frank (Robert Carlyle) is a widowed baker, trying to recover from his wife's sudden death. As he is driving the highway, one day, he comes across a serious auto accident involving a single driver, Steve (John Goodman). Told to keep the man conscious through conversation, Frank learns that Steve was on his way to a dance class appointment he made, 40 years ago, with a young girl he had a crush on! He begs Frank, when he can, to go to the Marilyn Hotchkiss Dance and Charm School, find Lisa and tell her why he couldn't make it. Frank does so, reluctantly, much to the surprise of his widowers support group. Once at the school, however, now operated by Marilyn's daughter, Mary Ann (Mary Steenburgen), and featuring a beautiful lady, Meredith (Marisa Tomei), Frank is intrigued. Failing to find Lisa, the baker, nevertheless, goes back the following week, even though Meredith's troubled stepbrother (Donnie Wahlberg) warns him to keep away from his sister. Before long, Frank and all of the widowers are learning to "live again" with the healing power of ballroom dance. But, will Steve remain alive and will Lisa ever be found? This lovely film is easy to recommend to fans of romantic drama and, indeed, all those who admire quality film-making. The story is wonderful, after a slow opening, with some memorable lines and situations. Also, the setting is fantastic, an old but beautiful ballroom, with Mary Ann parting the stage curtains at each class' beginning and following a pattern of etiquette that recalls a different era. As for the cast, Carlyle, Steenburgen, the always lovely Tomei, Goodman, Sean Astin, Paymer, and especially Wahlberg, are made-to-order great. Naturally, the costumes, photography and inventive direction are also strong assets. Want to put a spring in your step and smile on your face? Dance out the door and secure a view soon.

John Goodman is wonderful here. Even though his character is seriously injured and near death, Steve just keeps on telling his story and his mind seems clear, despite all that is going on. Steve even cares about Frank, as bad a shape as he's in! Of course, when he is narrating and we see something else, he sounds perfectly normal. He tells the story two different times, though, and the other time we see at the very beginning of the movie. We just don't get to see that much.

I know Robert Carlyle mainly is a crafty and sometimes gleeful villain, and I'm quite used to seeing him go back and forth between the present day and an earlier life, which is what this movie does a lot. Here, there is one scene that hints at his future, but mostly he is a kind and caring man who also shows he hasn't gotten over his late wife. It's a different side of him, certainly, though he had not played the villain yet.

The scenes with kids are fun and just edgy enough, with the humorous attempts to be "proper".

I've seen Mary Steenburgen in so many great roles. She's kind of flat here a lot of the time, trying so hard to be proper, but she gets an attitude change later. It's still a good performance because that's just how the character is. And she is a wonderful dancer.

Marisa Tomei is quite likable and someone I can support as a potential romantic interest, quite a contrast somehow to a role of hers I saw earlier.

I'm not familiar with Donnie Wahlberg though I've heard of him. He's mostly your typical bully but has a vulnerable side.

A couple of other actors have only a few lines, but they are well known and do quite well. Danny DeVito was Steve's cellmate in prison.

And Octavia Spencer has one line. But she does it so well it's clear she will go on to be highly regarded.

The best thing about the movie for me was the music. No, they're not the original versions of the songs in most case, but the sound of the big band era is back, baby! This movie swings!

But of course not everything here is positive. Not everything will work out the way we would hope and yet some endings are happy.

I had a good time. Mostly.