Slow Dancing in the Big City

When you read about this film you wanna cringe. I have seen it countless times and yet I cringe myself! So what is the attraction here? I think that for me, it's the offbeatness of the romance. I find it super refreshing to have an oddball coupling between this NYC Jimmy-Breslin-like columnist and a down-on-her-luck (health-wise) ballerina. You feel embarrassed for Paul Sorvino at his unsubtle approach to wooing this woman. Like the guy in the bar who can't take a hint. He's a bit overweight (at least as a would-be suitor for a ballerina. Hope that doesn't sound unkind) and possibly a tad too old for her. Nice change of pace from Greek God wooing Super-model. The Bill Conti score has stuck in my head all these years later, which is a pretty good sign. However some of the acting is just dreadful. A subplot involving a young Puerto-Rican boy befriended by Sorvino's character is just hilariously bad. But the opening scene where Ditchburn is warming up to Carole King draws you right into this story. Good luck finding it. You'd think that Lifetime would be re-airing this or even WE, but I haven't seen it on in quite a few years.

It's gratifying that this movie has so many fans. As I remember it, it was a critical and financial disaster, but is still worth seeing. It has one of the greatest sets ever constructed for a movie......New York City. There's something about NY.that always adds to my enjoyment of a film shot there. It would make a good trivia party game to name all the films shot there. I'll start, "Prince of the City," "Raging Bull," "Malcolm X," "Mean Streets." Your turn. Paul Sorvino is always on the verge of super stardom but can't come up with the right vehicle, like Brando in "Streetcar", or Al Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon, but he's incapable of giving a bad performance. Several things about the film annoy me. Sorvino's character with his non stop manic babbling and joking can be a real turn off. But he did the role as written or directed, and I'm surprised this wasn't noticed during filming. Anita Dangler as the cloying Franny, is a bit too cloying, but she gives a good performance as the waitress who shares Sorvino's bed only when he needs a body there, and knows there is no hope for a future relationship. She also has a steady stream of meaningless babble that she knows will further alieanate him, but she can't help herself. He's probably the first man she's had that didn't use her for a punching bag, and spoken with a semblance of kindness to her. Anita Ditchburn who I'm told is a ballet star in Canada is a strange young lady. She plays the role with almost one expression...a constant pout. The plot is as phony as Hollywood can get. A reporter who wouldn't be caught dead at the ballet, falls in love with a dying ballerina. Are you kidding me!? An adorable little Puerto Rican kid is also in there somewhere. But guess what. I've seen it a few times and I still love the movie. Give it a viewing. You'll enjoy.

I recognized the title, it stars Paul Sorvino, so it sounded intriguing when I saw it was on "Flix". I just finished watching it so I came here to see if other folks thought the movie was as bad as I thought it was.

Why is Paul Sorvino's character in love with this ballerina? He sees her and is instantly smitten--no matter how annoying she is, he can't help but love her all the more. Yeah, they were going for Jimmy Breslin--that was pretty obvious. I kept waiting for the story to make sense--to see a reason behind all the dreck--but I was sadly disappointed. I thought Paul Sorvino was attractive in a "husky" kind of way (that's the description given for Flix) and all the "I've seen the X-Rays" nonsense was over the top--"You could bleed to death", etc...."I....can't....walk".. "No--I want HIM to carry me out for my bow". I really don't understand why the film makers didn't see how bad it is/was. I think "The Turning Point" was out the year before so they saw an audience for "Ballet dancer as protagonist" type movies, but forgot that you really need a plausible storyline or, if you're doing a "character study", you need to make your characters three dimensional and believable. They failed miserably on both accounts. And I couldn't tell what type of accent the ballet dancer was trying to affect. At times it seemed slightly Russian, at times, slightly British--nothing consistent. I guess they figured that after Turning Point, all you had to do was get a pretty ballerina...women LOVE to watch pretty ballerina's in pain for their art, dying (maybe) and falling in love.

I saw this film years ago and it was John G. Avilsden's first film after ROCKY. I for one was blown away at the time and there is some great dancing in it and a good love story. Also, the soundtrack is awesome (I have the original on vinyl 33) and should be re-released on cd. Would also like to see the film released on dvd--alomg with Avilsden's other neglected work: THE FORMULA Brando/Scott. This was Paul Sorvino's finest hour on screen and I remember coming out of the cinema extremely moved--true, you may love this film or hate it-depends what kind of a soul you have. Slow Dancing never even turns up on Tv --What happened to this movie and are there any other fans of it out there?

This is a wonderful movie. I've only seen it twice, and I've been looking for it again for ever. I'd buy it if I could find it. While it's sad, it shows three things -- how much a man can love a woman, how hard some people want something and how hard people work to overcome their limitations.