Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with Capone in Chicago-land-ville-town. He's seen a documentary that he loves and wants to tell the world about called MAD HOT BALLROOM, a doc in the vein of SPELLBOUND. Sounds like it could be a lot of fun to see the drama of kids in a highly competative situation. It sure worked for Capone. Here he is!
Hey, all. Capone in Chicago here. After crowing last week about a well-made documentary that has no release date as yet (YEAR OF THE YAO), here's one that's rolling out everywhere very soon. Unfortunately, in many cities, it's coming out the same weekend as STAR WARS. I'm really hoping this film doesn't get lost in the rush, but I think it has some staying power. Read on...
Documentaries about elementary or junior high school kids in competition have been very popular over the years. SMALL WONDERS, about children learning advanced violin from a dedicated teacher, was made into the feature film MUSIC OF THE HEART with Meryl Streep. And then there's the king of all movies of this sub-sub-genre, SPELLBOUND, about champion spelling bee students, was nominated for an Oscar in 2003 and introduced us to some of the most fascinating characters (young or old) I'd seen that entire year. Allow me now to tell you a little about MAD HOT BALLROOM from director Marilyn Agrelo, a film that begs (and answers) the question, why the hell are little kids learning the tango? And why do I find it so damn entertaining?
MAD HOT BALLROOM profiles three New York City public schools, all of which include ballroom dancing as an actual class (as opposed to some sort of after-school activity) for 11-year-olds. The teachers that run these classes run the kids through a very physical training of the merengue, the rumba, the foxtrot, some swing dancing, and the aforementioned tango. No sign of the lambada, thank God. It is the Forbidden Dance, after all. The teachers select a small number of students (one couple per dance style) to compete in a citywide competition against about 60 other schools. As expected, some of the kids (most of whom are of the inner-city variety) couldn't care less about the dance experience, while others want to be on the team so badly they cry at every mistake they make while practicing.
As with SPELLBOUND, certain kids in MAD HOT BALLROOM come to the foreground as full-blown "stars," each with his or her own background and upbringing for us to examine. Sometimes these kids are absolutely hilarious; other times, they break your heart 17 different ways as the everyday pressures in their lives often come to a head with this contest. It's sometimes a bit startling to hear the children talk about dancing one minutes and the dangers of selling drugs the next. Perhaps the most surprising highlight for me was the tenacity of the teachers. They absolutely will not take any crap from these kids. Punishment for acting up is severe and swift, sometimes costing a child a spot on the team. And since the teachers spend far more time with these kids in a given day than the kids do with their parents, the teachers' emotional attachment to these children is strong.
At its core, MAD HOT BALLROOM is about entertaining the hell out of us. From showing us the nervousness of two youngsters forced to look at each other eye-to-eye during a dance routine or actually touching a member of the opposite sex for such extended periods of time, the film illustrates how these kids are molded into young ladies and gentlemen in an effort to excel at dancing. And the teachers are happy to tell us all about the transformations. Kids that were in trouble every week, stay out of trouble throughout the course of the year they are learning dance and beyond. Once structure and responsibility is introduced into their lives, the results are remarkable. By the time the film reaches the climactic finals, you will be undeniably hooked. MAD HOT BALLROOM will be 2005's first hit documentary. The film opens in Chicago (and I'm sure other cities) on May 20 at the Landmark Century Center Theatre.
Capone
