Why is this film so underrated?

mathmaniac

I recall seeing 'Saturday Night Fever' (talk about your clichéd movie plots!) and leaving the theater with nothing but the dancing of John Travolta on my mind. That movie was a huge hit, the music was terrific, and to my mind, it made John Travolta a star.

This movie gives me the same feeling. Why was it not a similar hit?

I've watched it scores of times. Chayanne and Vanessa Williams have credible chemistry on-screen and the plot, although kind of standard, is interesting enough to carry the action.

In particular, I always come back to this movie to watch the dancing. It is simply spectacular. The scene where Chayanne and Vanessa Williams' characters reach a kind of truce because they love to dance and like each other - so they go on a second date - is simply amazing. They arrive at the nightclub where they had a failed first date and the crowd parts to let them in to a kind of Latin musical dance fest where the music doesn't seem to stop long enough for anyone to sit down and catch a breath. They are immediately caught up in the swirl and almost as soon, they part and go off in different directions, passing each other, picking up different partners and having a wonderful time to the fantastic music. The scene is not about them, it's about the crowd and the sheer joy of dancing to Latin music - which in this case is not sultry and sensuous one-to-one dancing but an all-out bacchanalia of multiple partners and a pounding beat. Wonderful, wonderful!

Everything about this film feels so natural and relaxed. It's like a breath of fresh air. It's not fair to compare it to 'Strictly Ballroom' directed by Baz Luhrmann. I love his movies but I appreciate them for being grand operatic extravaganzas. 'Strictly Ballroom' was certainly that.

'Dance with Me' will always be one of my favorite movies and now I've got a crush on Chayanne that just won't quit.

score 10/10

mathmaniac 30 June 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1683850/