RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2006)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
22 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:59

Fresh:13

Rotten:46

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: Clumsily staged and brimming with melodrama and trite self-help cliches, this dance movie stays stuck at amateur level.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for mature situations and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

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... 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]

Starring: Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Wahlberg

Starring: Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, Mary Steenburgen, Donnie Wahlberg, David Paymer, Danny De Vito, John Goodman, Camryn Manheim, Jody Savin

Director: Randall Miller

Director: Randall Miller
Producer: Eilleen Craft, Morris Rushkin
Composer: Mark Adler
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • John Goodman Interview
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jul 4, 2006

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Though it's fun to see Carlyle play something other than a bad guy, and all the actors here are working hard, it's a lost cause. Miss this one.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
04/01/06
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

This well-intentioned film about loss, grief and new beginnings gets bogged down in syrupy cliches and blunt self-help dialogue.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/31/06
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dance & Charm School is like a first date who shows up at the door with flowers, candy, a blood test and a U-Haul. It's trying much too hard.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
03/31/06
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For a movie centered on a class where students learn poise and grace, Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School is woefully clumsy.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
03/31/06
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's got two left feet -- and charm is in dangerously short supply.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/31/06
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you think the title is endless, wait till you see Goodman's death scene.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
03/31/06
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Charming? Hardly. With its woefully forlorn leading man, phony learning-to-live-again love story and not nearly enough dancing, this is one class you can afford to skip.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
03/31/06
Peter Debruge
Peter Debruge
Miami Herald

With a few too many characters and plot fibers to track and about 100 minutes to do it, Miller goes for easy resolutions and leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
03/31/06
Evan Henerson
Evan Henerson
Los Angeles Daily News

You've always suspected that going to dance class and charm school wouldn't be a lot of fun. Now a movie has come along that proclaims the truth: You were right all along.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/31/06
E! Online

For much of its length, Hotchkiss verges on archness: If it eventually wins us over, it's in large part thanks to the terrific cast Miller has assembled.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
03/31/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Marilyn Hotchkiss demonstrates that the same old construct can be made thrillingly fresh with the right components.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
03/30/06
Sarah Kaufman
Sarah Kaufman
Washington Post

Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School is a soggy, endless wallow in nostalgia and the healing power of very bad dancing.

comment Comment
03/30/06
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’s all a treacly, shoddily assembled, underwritten mess.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
03/30/06
Robert Abele
Robert Abele
L.A. Weekly

The point of the film is that anything is possible when you open your heart to new experiences. Simplistic, for sure. Simple-minded, maybe. But the feel-good pleasures in a movie with this much positive thinking are undeniable.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/29/06
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This flat-footed male weepie musters an insurance ad's worth of clichés about the importance of busting a move in middle age -- and it strains so hard to do so that it's almost perversely compelling.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/28/06
Rob Nelson
Rob Nelson
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Shows how dancing becomes a route to personal transformation for a man mired in mourning.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/24/06
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Suggest the first rom-com directed by Alejandro González Iñarritu.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
03/21/06
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Watchable enough, but many insufferable scenes particularly any with the presence of John Goodman and with the school's founding director.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
03/01/06
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald

Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School juggles three separate time periods -- and is completely formulaic in each one.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
12/06/05
Dennis Harvey
Dennis Harvey
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 >> >|
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
78% 78% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
90% 90% District 9
86% 86% 500 Days of Summer
63% 63% Extract
06% 06% All About Steve
78% 78% It Might Get Loud

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Best of the Decade

Best of the Decade

Find out what movies made our list!

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2

Watch the brand new trailer now!

Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans

Prepare to Clash with Titans in this trailer!

Total Recall

Total Recall

RT looks back on Jude Law's best movies!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
33
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
20
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
  • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
19
  • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
32
  • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
28
  • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Soars to #1 Spot
261
  • RT's Best of the Decade!
139
  • Brittany Murphy: 1977-2009
115
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
69
  • Total Recall: Jude Law's Best Movies
54
  • Critics Consensus: Sherlock Holmes Is Worth Investigating
33
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: District 9 and (500) Days of Summer
32
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
11
  • What We're Watching on Blu-ray from Disney!
8
  • Friday Harvest: Sherlock Holmes, Toy Story 3, and more!
7
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
69
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at IGN
  • Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Top 50 of 2009
Top 50 of 2009 External Link

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Santa's Naughty List
Santa's Naughty List External Link

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.