I wanted to like "Stepping Out" for its heart and to cheer for the underdogs in the story, members of a Buffalo, N.Y. tap-dancing class who are catapulted onto the stage as part of a big charity event, along with other acts featuring professional dancers. A cursory search reveals that the original play was a hit in London's West End, but a flop on Broadway. The original took place in London. This kind of film has been done before, usually in a sports setting, in films such as the superb "Hoosiers" and "Breaking Away".I'd watch Liza Minnelli in anything, but she doesn't convince me that she's a washed-up Broadway hoofer giving tap classes in a rundown church hall and, with her voice and charisma, a blue-collar bar crooner performing sets with her guitar-playing boy friend. Anyway, niggling aside, here she is, so she's given a couple of musical numbers, one a solo spot in the empty church hall with the stained-glass windows ablaze with colour and a spotlight shining down on her from above. There are two films here. One is a Liza Minnelli showcase. The other is the underdog story: a group of amateur dancers with two left feet get their big chance to strut their stuff, and in the process, learn something about themselves. The problem, for me, is that everyone's a "type". There's Ms. Obssessive Compulsive who will prove that she's just folks, after all; there's Mr. Clumsy Nerd, the only male in the class, picked on by the women, who will finally prove that he's a man; there's Ms. Mouse, and so on. Liza, I must say, is game in this ensemble cast. There's a scene stealer at work, here, and that's Shelley Winters, who is both hilarious and touching as the group's long-suffering piano-player. The long-awaited Big Night performance by the troupe itself is fun and strikes the right balance between being quite good and endearingly goofy.

I honestly have to say that this is just about the worst movie I've ever seen. Oh, I suppose there was a B-level horror flick that MIGHT have been more awful...but at least THOSE films don't try and coast to oblivion on the wings of people of Minelli and Winters' status.There is not a single person in this film that you believe or care abut for a second, specifically since they are cardboard clichés from every good film ever made. Totally predictable, lacking in charm, verve, innovation, wit or originality ... it doesn't even have the sense to be a parody.I can't imagine how anyone on this site could have given it more than 3...the fact that there are only about 400 people who voted for it and around 18 people who bothered to make a comment shows you just how much of a flop this film is. Out of respect for those who wrote something nice here, I can only suppose that they are all related in some way or another to people who made or acted in this truly awful film. Someone called this "a bit of fluff"; more like a hairball...

I loved "Stepping Out." If you chose not to, you're more than entitled (as people who hate so much around these websites are wont to say), but for God's sakes, get the facts right. The company of dancers in question does not "put on a show" in this movie. That's something that star Liza Minnelli's mother did in films over sixty-seven years ago. (Gosh, people's obvious prejudices against musical films is so sadly obvious here.) The company of working class, small community tappers PARTICIPATE in a benefit show already established by a haughty committee muckety-muck who makes her bias against Mavis Turner's awkward, beginning dance class painfully apparent. And there's your heartbeat of this very small, unassuming film. Shot on Canadian locations disguised to simulate upstate New York, STO is actually more in tune with the plot of A CHORUS LINE than any Mickey-Judy film. The obvious difference is that the dancers are not professional. They tap in a church hall after hours, after their regular jobs and family matters. It's their single emotional release, and the thing that makes them feel like kings. And while the film does not literally delve into the life of each dancer individually, it paints enough of an ensemble portrait to make you realize that these folks support each other, lean on each other, and love one another unconditionally, almost like a second family. I suppose the sentimental nature of that premise is too much for a lot of modern cynics to take, but there it is. Minnelli's plucky Mavis is the only real professional amongst them; she almost became a star, but didn't quite make it. Minnelli, in fact, has one lovely, CHORUS LINE-like moment in the film where she dances a solo to the title number (spotlight, mirrors, and all), then has to explain to a single eavesdropper how she briefly touched dance stardom before quietly, somewhat brokenly, retiring to Buffalo. But she truly believes in her dancers and is the perfect cheerleader and counselor to them in the end. And there is a fine, somewhat surprising epilogue which formally shows off the dance family- wonderfully represented by Ellen Greene, Andrea Martin, Bill Irwin, Julie Walters, Carol Woods, Jane Krakowski, Sheila McCarthy, and Robyn Stevan. It truly is a feel-good movie. In fact, it's a feel terrific movie.

Stepping Out isn't commonly spoken of nowadays, which is a shame as the film is a brilliant combination of Shelley Winters' comedy, Liza Minnelli's stamina and voice and superb performances by the 'Mavis Turner Tappers'. The story is inspiring as a group of amateur tap dancers try to make it to the top, and I watch it whenever I feel depressed - It raises your spirits and confidence.