My friend Christina brought over the DVD of "Love n' Dancing" so we could watch it last night. Perhaps my expectations were low after seeing "B-Girl" last week, but I have to say I honestly liked most of the movie.
It helps that I'm a sucker for even a passable dance movie ("Take the Lead," "Step Up," etc.) That said, "Love n' Dancing" has some really nice moments that I enjoyed non-ironically. Some of the pluses:
- Billy Zane is great as the money-oriented fiancé of the female lead. He makes a lot out of a fairly standard role, just with small movements and comic touches. He's believable as the flawed but not villainous boyfriend.
- The movie gives you what you came for, with dancing filling every act instead of long exposition or extraneous plot twists.
- The dancing footage features some of the best swing dancers on the planet, which was pretty awesome to see: Benji and Heidi! Jordan and Tatiana! Ben and Carla! Sweet.
- Tom Malloy and Amy Smart have good chemistry on and off the dancefloor. Yes, much of the flashier parts of their final showcase dance is done with dance doubles. But it's not excessive, and you do get to see them do some genuinely difficult moves together.
All-in-all, an entertaining and fun movie that fulfilled it's premise.
As a side note, Christina and I loved the side bits with the hot Latina lesbian dancer and her romantic pursuits. I think that "Dancing Dykes" would be a tremendous major motion picture. I'm not even kidding.