Mad Hot Ballroom Review
By David Kempler
Tepid Dancing
Children trying to dance their way into our hearts
Documentaries about off-the-beaten-track competitions have become a hot topic. "Spellbound", a film that followed kids in behind-the-scenes fashion as they prepare for and participate in the National Spelling Bee was a hit last year. Now we have "Mad Hot Ballroom" which takes us into the world of a yearly ballroom dancing contest involving tweenagers in the public schools of New York City.
Mixed in with the stories of the various school programs trying to win the grand prize are the personal sagas of the children outside of the school. We see them at play, rehearsing, giving their opinions on members of the opposite sex, the world, and just about anything else that grade school kids think and talk about. We hear how some of these kids have turned their lives around from potential slides into drugs and crime. Unfortunately, "Mad Hot Ballroom" glosses over this topic. If it had explored some of this in detail, or even in passing it would have made it a far more gripping film. An interesting follow up would be to see where these kids are in five years.
Director Marilyn Agrelo does a nice job of unfolding the story, yet it somehow lacks that necessary tension. While we watch the movie with some interest, it's a bit of a detached interest. We don't really care all that much who wins and loses, so the climactic finale of the competition falls a bit flat. It holds us but never grabs us and shakes us. Maybe the subject matter doesn't quite lend itself to high drama. What we are left with is a nice movie about a nice contest with nice kids, teachers and adults. Nice is well and good but to be an excellent story you need more than nice. You need some grit. "Mad Hot Ballroom" needs to be a little madder and a little hotter.
