Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing & Charm School is as unevenly offbeat as its too-quirky title.
Frank (Robert Carlyle) is a baker, in mourning for his wife. Until he encounters a stranger Steve (John Goodman) dying in a car wreck, who makes Frank promise to honour the reunion appointment he made with his childhood sweetheart 40 years ago in their oddball suburban dance class.
Nostalgia glazes this gentle indie drama, a tear-tugging paean to the power of charm and illusion. Sepia flashbacks to a rowdy 12-year-old Steve discovering girls (yuk!) for the first time clod-hop alongside Frank’s present-day romantic reawakening.
At least it sidesteps the formula of most ‘follow the beat of your heart’ ballroom flicks – even if the highlight remains the cheesy lothario: New Kid On The Block Donnie Wahlberg still hanging on to his hairline â if no longer Hangin’ Tough.
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