Lena Horne's recording of "I got Rhythm"soars above the title sequence of "Take the lead",leaving us on no doubt that the movie is indeed about rhythm - the rhythm of the dance,the rhythm of the streets,the rhythm of the basketball courts,the New York apartments and projects......the rhythm,if you like,of life. This feeling of energy and vitality is echoed in the pacing and cutting of the movie itself,sometimes frantic,sometimes languorous,but always infused with energy,restrained or unrestrained. Mr A.Banderas's slightly rueful charm is just right for the role of Paul Dulaine who - against all odds - brought Ballroom Dancing into the New York Public Schools System.He carries himself with the grace and precision of a young Burt Lancaster and never,metaphorically or literally,puts a foot wrong.It is a brilliantly controlled performance made all the more admirable for its apparent lack of artifice. There is,as you might expect,some wonderful music and dancing,superbly choreographed. Just one small scene where one of Dulaine's pupils dances alone to Sly and the Family Stone's remarkable version of "Que Sera,Sera" is worth the price of rental alone. There is nothing remotely original or cutting edge about "Take the lead" but it is a feast for the eyes and ears with a wonderful star performance. And as Ira Gershwin once said...."who could ask for anything more?"

In New York, the polite dance instructor Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) sees a black teenager vandalizing the car of the director of a public school and on the next day he volunteers to teach dance to students to give respect, dignity, self-confidence, trust and teamwork. The reluctant director Augustine James (Alfre Woodard) offers the troublemakers that are in detention expecting Pierre to give-up of his intentions. Pierre struggles against the prejudice and ignorance of the students, parents and other teachers, but wins his battle when the group accepts to compete in a ballroom dance contest.Movies of dance are usually attractive, and the entertaining "Take the Lead" is no exception. However, this feature is more important because it is based on a true story of a man that has decided to make a difference, helping poor students to see life with another perspective. Antonio Banderas shows again that he is a "complete" actor, capable of performing the most different roles. The real Pierre Dulaine deserves this homage for the importance of his gesture and action. Jenna Dewan, from "Step-up" and the sexy Katya Virshilas are stunning dancers and the actors and actresses present wonderful choreographic dances. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Vem Dançar" ("Come to Dance")

It's a shame, I really wanted to give this movie a better rating, in spite of all the political correctness (which in this case amounts to nothing more than wishful thinking) and in spite of the story often veering off into fairy tale territory, but the ending completely destroyed and made me forget anything that was good in this film. How can the filmmakers be so dumb and not see that nobody (and I mean nobody) will buy that type of silly ending, so plastered with good feeling and political correctness, that you can see the sweet, sticky glue oozing out from all pores... It is ridiculous! To consider that all this is supposed to be based on a true story makes things even worse. The real Pierre Dulaine should sue for slander!On the other hand, what is positive in this film is a good premise/storyline which could however have been developed much better, made much more realistic. Also positive are most acting performances (especially Banderas who is very convincing in his role, I must grudgingly admit), the sound quality and the dancing. It's a real pity the film eventually veered off in the wrong direction.

This movie is "inspired by" the story of Pierre Dulaine, who started a ballroom dance school program in New York. But "inspired by" seems to equal "use a real person's name," because this movie feels utterly false in every detail, from its "cute meet" with a thuggish (but good-hearted) student through its two cardboard bad guys to a final ridiculous finale that pushed absurdly unrealistic to new heights. It felt so unlikely, and I remembered that Mad Hot Ballroom, about that same dance program, had featured younger kids, so I googled around and found an excellent review on some website called Townhall by Megan Basham that pretty much said everything I felt, and also pointed out that in fact the program was created not by one person but by two and did in fact start in two schools with younger kids of various backgrounds.But what is probably a very interesting story is tossed out in favor of a very shallow Hollywoodization.This is not to say the movie isn't watchable. The cast is engaging and there are some nice dance numbers in it, and of course Hollywood clichés can have a certain manipulative power. But the problem is, every new ridiculous event in the movie pushed me further from enjoyment and towards irritation.When people complain about Hollywood movies, this is exactly what they're complaining about.