From hustling strippers to popping penguins, put a spring in your step with the best dance movies
Explore what moves and shakes in the alternate cinematic universe that is the dance movie, with Leigh Paatsch’s ultimate guide.
Leigh Paatsch
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It might still be the middle of winter but there is one sure-fire way to put some spring in your step.
Leigh Paatsch looks at where you stream yourself into state of choreographed nirvana:
HUSTLERS (FOXTEL, AMAZON)
This ripping true-crime drama is punctuated by several mesmerising dance numbers (which are kept in context to a punchy plot). This adaptation of the 2015 New York Magazine article The Hustlers at Scores tells the story of a ring of mickey-slipping strippers who systematically drugged the clientele of an elite men’s club frequented by haplessly horny Wall Street types. Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) is the brains, the beauty and the body of the operation, which sees its victims swiftly parting company with their consciousness and their credit cards. Destiny (Constance Wu) is a conflicted second-in-command who can’t say no to the easy money, but can’t always endorse the treacherous tactics employed to make it. Lopez (a career-best for her) and Wu (now officially a rising star after this and Crazy Rich Asians) are a dynamic double act throughout, exploring a complicated relationship where the nurturing warmth of true friendship is slowly iced by a rising pile of cold hard cash.
SHALL WE DANCE? (BINGE, FOXTEL)
A sunny, life-affirming celebration of simply hoofing it, any old how. Richard Gere stars as a successful lawyer who keeps his passion for ballroom dancing a secret from his wife (Susan Sarandon) and family. Co-stars (that woman again!) Jennifer Lopez as a mysterious instructor.
CENTRE STAGE (NETFLIX)
A fresh intake of hopefuls at New York’s prestigious American Ballet Centre learn only six of them will be accepted for further studies beyond the end of semester. Sounds a bit like Survivor-in-a-tutu, doesn’t it? A peppy little pirouette around what it takes to follow a dream, with stacks of high-energy dance routines.
HAPPY FEET (NETFLIX)
Cast aside by his fellow penguins because he can’t sing, a young misfit named Mumble (voiced by Elijah Wood) embarks upon an arduous trek towards acceptance. The many dance interludes in this beautiful animated production are irresistibly uplifting, especially when those Antarctic Astaires start to tap dance.
STEP UP (TO RENT ONLY)
Channing Tatum is a body-poppin’ bad boy. Jenna Dewan is a ballet-dancin’ rich girl. When this pair make their best moves – nearly all of which involve a sudden halt, followed by a laser-like locking of the eyes – the suggestive swoon that sweeps the screen could be classified as a viable alternate power source.
CHICAGO (FOXTEL, AMAZON)
This freewheeling musical surfs wave after wave of pure kinetic energy. The star pairing of Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as duelling homicidal flappers from the Jazz era is tremendous, with added oomph from Richard Gere as their showboating lawyer.
BURLESQUE (TO RENT ONLY)
A sparkly shimmy into that grey area separating the musical from the music video. Christina Aguilera works up a fair smoulder as the smalltown prancer who hits the big smoke in search of (you guessed it!) fame and fortune. Co-star Cher moves remarkably well for someone covered head-to-toe in Botox.
BILLY ELLIOT (BINGE, FOXTEL)
A socially conscious feel-good frolic that thinks with its head, but feels with its heart. The keynote scene is that stunning sequence where young Billy (Jamie Bell) gives vent to his many frustrations by exploding into dance on the streets of his pokey British home town. Take a twirl with Billy and you won’t be disappointed.
DANCE ACADEMY: THE MOVIE (FOXTEL, NETFLIX)
Highly enjoyable expansion of the Australian TV series Dance Academy, tracking the teenage leotard legends as they try to make it in the wider world as adults. The story (much of which takes place in the US) is much more realistic about the plight of young performers than most movies in this genre.
HONEY (TO RENT ONLY)
A Flashdance-like affair that never lets its cameras stray too far from the hyper-undulating midriff of Jessica Alba. She plays an aspiring choreographer crafting a unique repertoire of routines while working on music videos. Plenty of old-school hip-hop cameos, including the incomparable Missy Elliott.
SAVE THE LAST DANCE (BINGE, FOXTEL)
Former ballerina Sarah (Julia Stiles), has moved to Chicago after a personal tragedy. Her misery compounds into loneliness when she commences studies at an unfriendly high school. Stepping in to save the day is Tony (Sean Patrick Thomas), who encourages Sarah to reconnect with her love of lunges, lifts and leaps.
THE RED SHOES (SBS ON DEMAND)
Classic adaptation of the famous Hans Christian Andersen story. Some may have problems surrendering their cynicism to a slightly dodgy fairy tale – wear those shoes and you’re doomed to dance until you drop dead – but the pay-off is some of the most exciting ballet ever filmed.
MAGIX MIKE XXL (BINGE, FOXTEL, NETFLIX)
This laid-back road movie rounds up most of the old Magic Mike gang for one last gripping and groping group-disrobing. If it’s only he-things in G-strings you’re after, you’ll have to wait until the closing act to properly unwrap all that guy candy. Stars Channing Tatum, Amber Heard.
BLACK SWAN (TO RENT ONLY)
Portraying a mentally fragile ballerina seemingly juggling her first big break with one last final breakdown, an Oscar-winning Portman channels a dangerous, damaging energy that will play an audience’s nerves like a piano.
STOMP THE YARD (NETFLIX)
A rather cool cash-in on the mid-2000s craze of stepping, which fused the unhinged physicality of krumping with highly regimented combinations of handclaps, knee-slaps and shout-outs. All dance sequences are kinetically exciting. Definitely worth checking out. Stars Columbus Short, Meagan Good.
HAIRSPRAY (FOXTEL, AMAZON)
You would have to be having one hell of a bad hair day not to have fun here. An effervescent Nikki Blonsky steals the show in a catchy adaptation of the hit Broadway musical about a chubby teen who becomes a TV star. Choreography is top-notch. Co-stars John Travolta, Christopher Walken.
FOOTLOOSE (FOXTEL, NETFLIX)
How does Footloose 2.0 stack up against the original? The standard of acting is slightly higher. The standard of dancing is light years better. Newcomer Kenny Wormald does a solid job stepping into the teen-rebel shoes made famous by Kevin Bacon. Co-stars Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid.
Originally published as From hustling strippers to popping penguins, put a spring in your step with the best dance movies