Alfre Woodard | pinartarhan.com

Take the Lead starring Antonio Banderas. Inspiring, fun and not-so-clichéd dance movie with Banderas. Definitely worth seeing.

Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) is a ballroom dance(s) instructor running his own studio in New York. One night, on his way back from another ball, he sees a teenager (named Rock- played by Rob Brown) taking his fury out on a car. When he realizes who the car belongs to (it belongs to the principal of the school the boy goes to), he realizes he might be of some help. The school consists of mostly troubled teens from poor backgrounds and they are not exactly hopeful about their future. The principal (Alfre Woodard) is more than amused at Pierre’s ridiculous idea but she realizes he is her only choice for a teacher to attend her students in detention.

The students – the rejects- are even more amused at the sight of this overly polite, dance-loving volunteer teacher. If they want to dance, they do it to hip hop and they have no interest in ballroom dancing – the stuff they see as the territory of rick, stuck-up white kids.

But Dulaine is more than determined. He slowly intrigues them, and with the help of his pro dance student Morgan (Katya Virshilas), he proves them how sexy and exciting his type of dances can be. He even encourages them to join a dancing competition. However his newly formed bond with the problem students will raise more than a few eyebrows with the principal, the other teachers, parents and his rich students, with the exception of one girl who feels more at home with the rejects. Also the more than chaotic home lives of the kids might interfere with their dancing classes. Can Dulaine manage to fulfill his quest to teach these teenagers to have faith in themselves and future, with the help of dancing?

Take the Lead is a wonderful dance movie. It may not reinvent the story of ambitious teacher/problematic students storyline, but it brilliantly combines the ballroom culture with the ghetto and tells a dance story that doesn’t revolve around romance, but faith, self-respect, motivation and concentrates on dance as a weapon at survival. It also has really fun dancing scenes featuring both ballroom dances and the club scenes separately, as well as the wonderful fusion scenes where both dances are combined. My favorite scenes are the ones where Morgan and Pierre dance in the school’s detention room and take the breath of the students and the threesome tango scene where his three students- two boys and a girl- put on one of the sexiest and most fun Tango sequences ever.

There are many reasons to see this film. If you love to dance, any form of dance, see it. If you ever need to restore some faith in the limited opportunities you have, see it. If you like Banderas, this is a must. It is also refreshing to see a dance movie where there is practically no romantic storyline but just sexual chemistry. It is also refreshing to see Banderas in a role where he gets to be the lead without having sex with the female lead and/or taking his clothes off.

6.5 on IMDB. 8/10 from me. Remember, I am addicted to dancing. Freestyle first and all the others second. It is also pretty much as unisex as a dance movie can get.

The “Threesome” Tango Scene

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riWIMO18NEQ&feature=related[/pro-player]

Favorite Lines:

*as Morgan and Pierre dance sexily together)

Eddie: Check Mr Dulaine! He’s just gettin’ his 0flirt on. You can watch the scene below:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEwZIufmafo[/pro-player]

Pierre Dulaine: You can get what you want.
Rock: No, some people get what they want.
Pierre Dulaine: Those are the people who show up to get it.

Student: (on how women keep smiling at Pierre because he is being so courteous) But you didn’t get any phone numbers.

Pierre: I didn’t ask for their numbers.

Pierre Dulaine: I understand six languages and I speak five – all with a Spanish accent.

When Eddie sees Pierre for the first time at school, Pierre is wearing a suit and a tie.

Eddie: Yo son, who died?
Pierre Dulaine: Apparently your manners.

Pierre Dulaine: To do something, anything, is hard. It’s much easier to blame your father, your mother, the environment, the government, the lack of money, but even if you find a place to assign the blame,it doesn’t make the problems go away.

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Christian Slater in My Own Worst Enemy. Image from: http://www.impawards.com

It is no secret that I love my spy gear, secret agents and a good mystery.For instance it might be about a secret agent who has been tricked and hanging in to take revenge while leading a dual life (Alias). By the way, Christian Slater does appear in 2 episodes of Alias.

However, the “mystery” and the conflict in My Own Worst Enemy is even more complicated. No, fellow fans of Alias, I haven’t lost it. I know all about Sydney Bristow and her family background. But despite all the tricks and lies, she wanted to be an agent. She just didn’t know she was recruited by the wrong men.

Henry Spivey (Christian Slater) is a family man. He loves his wife (Mädchen Amick) and his two kids (Taylor Lautner and Bella Thorne). He doesn’t mind working hard to keep the comfortable domestic bliss that they’ve got going.

Edward Albright (also Christian Slater) is a highly-skilled and deadly operative working for a secret government agency. He doesn’t mind having sex with his target and then killing her on the spot. He is good at everything, including sex.

The deal? There is a chip in our Henry/Edward (yep-same body)’s brain- implemented by the agency and used at their convenience. When an operation needs Edward, Henry is supposedly sent on a business trip and our gentle husband/dad is put the sleep. Edward is awakened and he gets the job done. Then the memories are erased for Henry and he wakes up. Henry isn’t supposed to know about Edward…However this dual life-one guy system hits a bump. Edward starts to wake up in the middle of Henry’s life and Henry starts waking up in the middle of Edward’s operations. The agency threatens Henry that they will kill him if he tries to talk about this to anyone, so he tries to co-exist. Edward doesn’t mind sleeping with the hot wife Angela. He has a hard time with the mundane family life, though. And Henry is more than freaked out having to participate in the spy game. Especially, every time he uncovers a truth, it is more disturbing than the last. He also hates the fact that his wife is unknowingly having sex with Edward and enjoying it a lot!

It might have lasted only a season (9 episodes) but it is definitely not because the show is not interesting. It has a great storyline and a solid leading actor. The rest of the cast are also doing a good job. Edward’s superior is played by Alfre Woodard. That woman really gives me the creeps. It is not really just about her talent but the shady characters she plays as well. You might remember her from Desperate Housewives, where she played the mysterious new neighbor who had one son locked in the basement. Edward’s partner/ Henry’s colleague Raymond/Tom (also dual identity-played by Tom (Mike O’Malley). Saffran Burrows plays the firm therapist. Mädchen Amick has appeared in many tv shows such as Joey, Freddie and Gossip Girl but she is most memorable in her role in Dream Lover, starring with James Spader. And of course Taylor Lautner who made quite a name for himself, playing Jacob Black in the Twilight Saga movies, Twilight and New Moon. He will continue his role in the two remaining movies of the series. But mind you, he doesn’t have that many lines. It is Christian’s show.

Watch it if you like your spy stuff. Christian Slater is also a plus.