Ain't It Cool News (www.aintitcool.com)
Movie News

Merrick Stomps TAKE THE LEAD!!

Merrick wonders...


“TAKE THE LEAD…never follow”.

“Break the rules. Take a stand!” (HOOT)

“Defy and conquer!” (STICK IT)

“They sat down as strangers, and stood up as one…” (UNITED 93)

See the pattern here?

These are promotional taglines for current, or upcoming, movies; seems we’re in the midst of a trend: Self empowerment. Non-conformity. Watching out for ourselves, because no one else will. There are probably other examples to be found (V FOR VENDETTA?), but you get the idea.

Are these projects signs of the times? Are they indicative of Hollywood’s creative bankruptcy? Or do they represent a basic, cyclical trend…coming around again? Probably fodder for the Talkbacks below…

No matter what the case, TAKE THE LEAD sets out to uphold such tenets - and does so effectively for much of its run. But, by the time closing credits roll, the film has undercut itself both artistically and dramatically. The emotional journey on which it takes us turns out to be a bullet train careening into an impenetrable wall of grating clichés and flimsy cop outs. It’s hard not to feel a bit duped.

This happens because TTL is, essentially, two disparately different movies. For the first two thirds of its running time, it’s a crisply directed and wisely considered exercise in the bending and tweaking of clichés. There’s nothing terribly new or provocative about its subject matter (Antonio Banderas is a renegade teacher who helps wayward inner-city kids find respect and purpose through dance), but such material is approached with an earnest, energized, and contagious truthfulness that would likely sway even the most staunch skeptic.

Much of this impact rises from Banderas’ sheer force of conviction – he mixes authoritative reserve with an “I know better than you, but I’m playing along for kicks!” quality that could convince you that having your skin boiled off while your eyes are gnawed by eels is not only tremendously cool, but damn exciting! His “attitude” is nicely bolstered by several stylistic considerations, chief among them: Many settings in the movie (a bombed out school, bustling city streets, the student’s homes) are shot in a stark, saturated manner one would expect to find in a hardcore police drama. It’s a tough, gritty, uncomfortable world. But “enlightenment” (society, learnedness, success) possess creamier, warmer, more inviting glows. Subtle stuff, but symbolic and provocative none the less.

Flowing beneath all of this is the pointed conceit that today’s collective youth has lost respect: For the world around them, for themselves, and for each other. That our individuality is constantly threatened by systems which either fail to recognize our potential, or are afraid that individuality somehow negates the “norms” establishment brings with it.

There’s an unspoken assertion here that, when all is said and done, it’s up to us to be accountable for what happens around us - through being accountable to ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, TAKE THE LEAD isn’t “anti-establishment”, per se. But it diminishes the importance of establishment by telling its audience not to lean to heavily on others to find the strengths and passions we already have inside of us – and not to let others make decisions for us when we know the decisions are not “right.” Above all, the film implores us not to let ourselves be pushed down by what is expected.

That’s one helluva arc for our main characters. So, what’s the payoff?


HEAVY SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD!!!


The payoff is a dance contest.

This, in itself, is fine – the film tells us we’re heading there early on, so it’s no surprise when we get there.

What is surprising is what happens once they walk through the door.

The “hero” is unexpectedly detained by a confrontation with villainous thugs. Will he make to the contest in time to dance with the beautiful heroine? Two guys are vying for the heart of one girl – but the three must work together to place in the contest. There’s a romantic slow dance in which everyone around the love birds seems to “disappear” for a fleeting moment of perfect solitude. Everything works out for everybody, then the rebel kids…having proven their worth by “winning” a high society dance off…plug their iPod into the event’s PA system, subjecting society snobs to “cool” music while dancing around the room, apparently possessed by a vengeful Pazuzu. And, of course, the society snobs start smiling and moving to the rhythm – these punk asses ain’t so bad after all!

Antonio says something about “Let them have this moment”… and roll credits.

It’s fluffy.

Stupid.

And, it’s Hell.

But at least Hell is consistent.

This finale isn’t from (and doesn’t belong in) the same movie we started watching. The message I ultimately took away from TAKE THE LEAD has nothing to do with the self-empowerment, or the importance of enlightenment, advanced earlier. The message I took from this ended up being, “Fight for your right to be a fucking douche bag moron!” All the potency found before simply slips away, and our time becomes utterly wasted.

This film spends 80-something minutes telling us to respect ourselves, only to disrespects its own self in its final 20. Was no one paying attention? Did the filmmakers simply chicken out? Or, did director Liz Friedlander and New Line never truly believe the spiel they were pushing to begin with? Or, is all of the above true?

TTL could easily have been a SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER for the current generation. Like it or not, that film stayed true to itself and its drama - while also featuring a dance contest (imagine that). Instead, this feels more like ELECTRIC BOOGALOO.

It’s a wasted message. And…like many of the characters in the film, from whom The Powers That Be evidently learned nothing…it’s a waste of potential that’s already there.








Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus