Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Written and directed by Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann's first film, about a championship ballroom dancer who refuses to play by the rules, is a real manifesto, and a perfect metaphor for the director's own approach – whether you like Moulin Rouge, you have to admit that it's a totally uncompromising movie, as bold and daring (or more) as it is crowd-pleasing.

So it is with Scott Hastings, the lead character here who insists upon following his own vision of ballroom dancing rather than conform to the stifling steps imposed by the Pan-Pacific Federation, the reactionary organization intent on preserving its idea of ballroom elegance.

Scott has the fire in his hips and an unbending creative spirit that just can't stick to the formula. His moves are flashy, show-offy, and invariably exciting … to the "non-experts" (that is, the audience). Luhrmann, too, isn't afraid to give the people what they want, but his art has genuine integrity—his argument is that you can have it both ways.

People love Picasso's blue period paintings … the Beatles … the Star Wars movies … does populist appeal make these unworthy of consideration as art?

Granted, Luhrmann goes for maximum sparkle and builds his shiny worlds on a gigantic bed of cliché … but there's a real love for these elements. Death to the tortured artist ideal, at last!

Er … yes, so Strictly Ballroom. It's very much a first film, but confidently so. Much smaller than Moulin Rouge, in fact, seeing it again post-Moulin, Ballroom almost seems like a demo version, or blueprint for the later film. Luhrmann doesn't quite have it all down—the plot has been done millions of times, the music veers toward cheesy instead of knowing, the performances are similarly over-the-top but not always in service of the story.

But the atmosphere is spot-on, the message (don't live in fear!) is inspiring, and the characters are all hilarious. Barry Otto, as Scott's former-dancer dad, is extraordinarily touching in his trapped regretfulness—his dynamic shift is possibly even more of a payoff than Scott's.

Extremely sweet, and, yeah, a total crowd-pleaser. Time will continue to be good to Strictly Ballroom, especially as Luhrmann continues to top himself … and prove himself right.

The DVD includes a very long featurette on the real world of Australian championship ballroom dancing, revealing the film to not be as exaggerated as you'd assume. It's almost as entertaining as the movie, but in more of a Best in Show kind of way.

Review by Iowa Jones