Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2006)
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Theatrical Release: Mar 31, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $182,515
Synopsis: MARILYN HOTCHKISS' BALLROOM DANCING AND CHARM SCHOOL begins with a fated meeting, as Frank (Robert Carlyle) pulls over to aid a car-crash victim, Steve (John Goodman), who is slowly dying by the side of the road. Frank is still coming to terms with his wife's suicide, so when Steve spins him a... MARILYN HOTCHKISS' BALLROOM DANCING AND CHARM SCHOOL begins with a fated meeting, as Frank (Robert Carlyle) pulls over to aid a car-crash victim, Steve (John Goodman), who is slowly dying by the side of the road. Frank is still coming to terms with his wife's suicide, so when Steve spins him a story about the dance school of the title, he decides to attend classes himself. Steve informs Frank that he was in love with a girl named Lisa (Camryn Manheim), who danced at the school when he was a 12-year-old boy. Now, some 40 years later, Frank was on his way to the school to meet her again, hoping to rekindle their flame. Director Randall Miller (CLASS ACT) neatly divides the story into three parts, providing flashbacks to flesh out Steve's story, showing Frank's desperate attempts--along with a paramedic team--to keep Steve alive, and illustrating what happens when Frank makes his way to the school. As the story pings back and forth, Frank arrives at the school intending to tell Lisa what happened to Steve, but fails to find her. What Frank does find, however, is Meredith (Marisa Tomei), a woman he hopes will fill in the aching gap left by the death of his wife. As Frank slowly falls in love with Meredith while continuing his search for Lisa, the film gently arcs through some sentimental material that should appeal to viewers who enjoy a good tearjerker. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Wahlberg, David Paymer
DVD Info
Release:
Jul 4, 2006
DVD Features:
- Keep Case
- Widescreen - 2.40
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Subtitles - English - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - Randall Miller - Director; Robert Carlyle - Star
- Featurette - "Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School Short Film"
- Trailers
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Why would Frank drop everything to embark on this lunatic mission? Well, the answer is simple. If he didn't, there would be no movie - and perhaps that wouldn't have been such a bad thing.
A surprisingly-moving message movie about love and redemption filled with sentimental and transformational moments leading to tearjerker of a finale.
Strong performances and moving themes are drowned in a sea of sentimentality.
That the film was itself borne out of risk invests its message with an honesty and an authenticity more than sufficient to offset its flaws.
I could believe almost nothing of this under-written, over-emoted saga.
This is a wildly ill-conceived jumble, and not even its impressive cast can rescue it.
Some will find Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dance and Charm School quaint, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
In this death-obsessed movie, the characters' lives flash before the audience's eyes - really, really slowly.
Clunky romantic comedy, which has the annoying habit of turning dead serious at exactly the wrong moment.
Miller has all but smothered the charm right out of his Charm School.
Not content to tell two lousy, maudlin stories at once, the movie goes for a full three.
The movie is so bad it brings up a question %u2014 what's the opposite of a comeback film?
The picture trivializes the characters, hinting at depths it can't depict, aiming at a profundity of feeling it can't begin to reach.
Beyond Wahlberg's deft moves, School's dancing is leaden, not charming, and the only challenge is enduring the film's lumbering progress until it finally clicks at the end.
Related Forums

by: REEL_REVIEWER 7/4/06

by: REEL_REVIEWER 7/4/06

by: REEL_REVIEWER 7/4/06

by: REEL_REVIEWER 7/4/06
Pictures
Trailers & Clips
Watch Now >>
Around the Network
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at IGN
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at AskMen


Top Critic