Practice Makes Perfect
During the rehearsal process and preparations for their five scheduled home game performances, we get up close and personal with the dancers, each of whom has an appealing personality.We become familiar with bits and pieces about their lives and aspirations, see them learning and trying to remember their steps, overcoming self doubt as they go, breaking out of their conventional selves as they shake their bodies in places many of them had all but forgotten they had. They face a final bout of jitters as they take to the court for their first performance. Through five shows, they gather fans and gain star status, which is heightened by articles in USA Today and appearances on The Today Show.
The seniors are all likeable, chatty, friendly folk who seem to be ideal casting for this sort of project. Of the twelve, there's just one man on the senior squad, and several of the women are the grandmothers of younger Nets dancers. Their interactions with each other, with their younger coaches and a team of teenage dancers are touching.
At one moment when they're not quite ready with a number and might be scrubbed from that particular home game's show, you find yourself rooting for the senior dancers. But that's one of few dramatic moments in the movie -- and that's a problem. This is obviously intended to be an inspiring 'can do' sort of film, but it seems to underplay the extent to which the senior dancers might be challenged to overcome the physical limitations that come with age.
Mass Appeal
That the dance routine and the performances and the praise the dancers garner from fans seem to fall so easily into place makes this film less compelling than it might otherwise be.We're shown that the Nets demand excellence, but fact is, these dancers aren't really excellent and there're only one or two whose moves are genuinely interesting to watch. The others are just kind of, well, cute -- you know, for seniors.
And what about those physical challenges? Yes, we witness dance coaches discussing their fears about pushing the seniors too hard, but we don't see any of the dancers' inevitable bouts with cramps, sprains, exhaustion or sweats. So, we're never shown what's at stake -- or the elders' gut and the level of determination they must have to succeed at their new job. This would be a better film, if those elements were present.
Still, if this film entertains couch potatoes of any age and inspires them to get up and shake their booties, it's done its job. And, that's a job well done!
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Film Details:
- Gotta Dance
- Directed by: Dori Berinstein
- Release Date: July 31, 2009 in USA, limited theatrical release
- Running Time: 93 mins.
- Parental Advisory: Content advisory for parents
- Country: USA
- Language: English
- Company: Dramatic Forces
