041. Shining Through

041. (29 Jan) Shining Through (1992, David Seltzer) 16



It'd be possible to disregard the plot of Shining Through if it wasn't entirely about the plot. Despite production value and a somewhat reputable cast, the film just uses them to put a completely nonsensical story front and center. If ever there was a time to let style rule over substance, this was it. The script is just so far-fetched and terrible, and Melanie Griffith is wretched trying to play a utilitarian, yet career-minded American spy. Earning the Razzie for Worst Picture while being about WWII and the Holocaust is no easy task, but this couldn't deserve the distinction more.

017. The Bodyguard

017. (20 Jan) The Bodyguard (1992, Mick Jackson) 26



The Razzie nominations and reputation still couldn't prepare me for this. This is sheer obliviousness captured on film, from Costner and Houston's complete lack of romantic chemistry to the outrageously half-baked assassination plot. Its unnecessary pretension only makes it funnier, like when Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston see Yojimbo on their first date. That eventually pales in comparison to all the Oscar talk, as Houston gets nominated for Best Actress and then insists on going to the ceremony despite the recent death of her sister and the certainty that her attacker will strike at the event. The Academy Award scenes are perfect camp, especially as the ego-stroking paid off in this picking up two actual Oscar nods.

199. Citizen Cohn

199. (11 Sep) Citizen Cohn (1992, Frank Pierson) 48



Airing less than a year before Angels in America hit Broadway, Citizen Cohn falls heavily in the shadow of that work. Both feature Roy Cohn on his death bed being visited by from ghosts of his past, but this straightforward, more fact-based biopic offers less insight into the man. James Woods is earnest in the lead role, but shouty and preachy scenes set years apart, mostly in courtrooms, place this firmly in mediocre telefilm territory. It's a harshly critical look at the man, but refusing to humanize him in any way seems cruel. The film revels in his misfortune. Neglecting his same-sex relationships makes this seem especially timid.

178. Final Analysis

178. (29 Aug) Final Analysis (1992, Phil Joanou) 31



Here's an erotic thriller with no concept of what sexiness is. Talking about your father raping your sister and going completely nuts when you take the slightest sip of alcohol are, for the record, unsexy. While Kim Basinger makes an effort to compensate for hideous material, she's not quite talented enough to do anything to fix this overcomplicated neo-noir. A sleazy and underutilized Eric Roberts actually gives the best performance here. Richard Gere and Uma Thurman are ineffective, at best. It's most astonishing a film this mediocre willfully places itself in the shadow of works like Vertigo. This straddles genres, occasionally a stupid mystery or dull courtroom drama, but it's always a mess.

168. Ghostwatch

168. (21 Aug) Ghostwatch (1992, Lesley Manning) 63



The "Television Terror" episode of Tales from the Crypt seems like an obvious influence, but this is still a landmark haunted house mockumentary. Such an incredible slow burn, Ghostwatch is most worthwhile for its final act. In its first hour, we're distracted with details determined to convince us what's happening is authentic. With a ghost placed only in a handful of frames, it's bizarre something this subtle was made for a one-time airing on the BBC.

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1992

1992

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field

I'm a bit clueless about how I felt about this performance. I mean, I really liked it and it was surely very entertaining as I was watching it but it was not something that really blew my socks off. Michelle is very good as Lurene, making her a very likeable person despite the fact that we shouldn't really like her. I appreciate the effort, it just didn't blow me away. But there's something about her that makes me really like her.

4. Susan Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil

Just like her whole performance, as Susan Sarandon is really memorable and moving as Michaela Odone, a woman who refuses to give up on her son's life. Although she's nothing truly mindblowing, she works extremely well with the characters and shows her emotions exceptionally. Really great work.

3. Emma Thompson in Howards End

Although Margaret Schlegel is a sort of unspectacular character, the performance of Emma Thompson in Howards End is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the little bit slow beginning, I found this work of hers fantastic and I was totally taken by her. It's a true testament to her greatness that the performance is still growing on me and I think so much about it.

2. Catherine Deneuve in Indochine

Sorry haters, I'm not one of you as I was totally taken by Catherine Deneuve's wonderful performance in Indochine. Catherine put on an incredibly subtle but extremely haunting performance that is unforgettable for me. She got everything right and despite the screentime issues she really amazed me.

1. Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish

This is a wonderful performance that I loved from the beginning to the end. Although it's not a mindblowing piece of work, it's still exceptional and should be much more often talked about. Mary McDonnell created a very memorable and much more layered character than one would expect. She excellently shows this character's pain plus she's a real treat to watch.

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Mary McDonnell

in

Passion Fish

This one was very close.

Final thoughts: This year was way better than I expected. Surprising outcome, even for me. I thought Emma would be a shoo-in (and I thought only Catherine could upset). Although none of these performances was an amazing achievement, they were all impressive. Ranking the Deneuve-McDonnell-Sarandon-Thompson qurtett was incredibly difficult. Then it came down to Catherine vs. Mary and it was even harder. I really did not know how to decide but I hope I made the right decision. In the end, I went with Mary's adorably bitchy and heartbreaking performance as the daytime actress. Somehow she stayed in my mind the longest. Michelle was really good though I found her a bit lacking, many are criticising Catherine in Indochine but I loved her. The other ladies were all wonderful.

Omissions:

• Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 
• Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns
• Tilda Swinton in Orlando
• Alfre Woodard in Passion Fish  *My Pick*

The ranking of the reviewed years:

1. 1969
2. 1944
3. 1974
4. 1961
5. 1989
6. 2001
7. 1959
8. 2006
9. 1978
10. 2010
11. 1996
12. 1964
13. 1939
14. 1977
15. 1992
16. 1997
17. 2009
18. 1980
19. 1941
20. 1972
21. 1963
22. 1966
23. 1973
24. 1983
25. 1986
26. 1937
27. 1990
28. 1954
29. 1958
30. 1948
31. 2002
32. 1957
33. 2003
34. 1940
35. 1998
36. 1975

About the next year: It's no secret that it will be 1962. :)

What do you think?

Catherine Deneuve in Indochine

Catherine Deneuve received her only Oscar nomination to date for playing Eliane, an unmarried French woman, who raises a Vietnamese princess in the movie Indochine. Although Catherine Deneuve was probably the biggest international star of the line-up, she might have received the least votes. This must have been a rather unexpected nomination as she hadn't been nominated for a Golden Globe and she didn't win critics' awards. So this must have been a pleasant surprise for everyone, except for maybe Sharon Stone who (in my opinion) was the runner-up for her (sort of) iconic performance in Basic Instinct.

Although Indochine won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it's not very popular nowadays. Most people say it's overlong and really boring but for me it was a truly wonderful experience. It's so beautifully made, exceptionally directed and cinematographed. The settings, the costumes, everything was so beautiful about it. The technical part was flawless and it was a really grand movie experience. I guess that's the reason why it (deservedly) won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The acting was pretty decent all around. Everyone turned in very even and proper work.

Including French screen goddess Catherine Deneuve who received her only Oscar nomination (to date) for playing this role. For me the fact that this is her only nomination is quite stunning as she's the lady who gave terrific performances in legendary movies like Belle de Jour. All in all, she's a wonderful actress and an astonishing beauty therefore I was really hoping that I would be amazed by this performance of hers. I've always been into French performances. There seems to be always a kind of distance between the audience and the actor and there's still such an unusual connection between them. Catherine Deneuve's acting is always very minimal and incredibly subtle so I didn't really expect a loud performance. Many think that she's a limited actress but I'm not one of them. I feel that her style can work incredibly sometimes and I love how distant she always is. The beginning of the movie is just brilliant: we see her in black clothes with a Vietnamese orphan whom she takes as her own daughter. The look on Catherine's face is just incredible. I was captivated at the beginning of the movie and that was so great.

Deneuve's beauty helps her a great deal and not because she's a real treat to look at. Or maybe because of it. She has a very haunting presence and she always seems to be like a ghost on the screen. I felt that she portrayed the spirit of Eliane who shows up, chills us and then she's gone. There's something incredibly disturbing about her sometimes and I don't get it why she makes me tense sometimes. Many say that she overdid the frigidness of her character but again I don't agree with them. I never felt that she was colder than she was supposed to be. Her character has an affair with a young soldier and Catherine is excellent in their scenes. Her icy persona is really something that I'm crazy about. I think whenever she needed to, she added as much passion to her character as she could.

Her chemistry with Eliane's daughter is also excellent. I saw them as mother and daughter but also as rivals fighting for their love. However, Catherine always made me wonder about the behaviour of her character. She made Eliane so deliciously mysterious. It was really impressive. Just like her narration. I loved listening to her voice as there was so much emotion in it and those were some of the most memorable moments in her work.

Unfortunately, for about an hour, she's barely on the screen. The movie works without her quite well (that might be a problem for her, I might add) but somehow when she returned, her presence was so strong that she made me forget about the screentime issues. Some of the best moments came like her Oscar clip when she confronts her old "friend" about a horrible death". That emotional outburst was sort of unexpected and yet it worked. But above, I was completely taken away by the scenes where we saw Eliane looking for her lost daughter. When she finds her, it was such an earth-shattering moment for me. I felt tons of emotions in myself and it was just amazing. The hope in her eyes and the willingness to fight was just wonderful. In some time, they lose contanct and they never see each other but it's a wonderful moment when she says why she doesn't want to meet. We see her in sunglasses and she looks so mysterious and wonderful. She very much reminded me of Greta Garbo. Both of them are wonderful, beautiful European superstars who have such powerful presence. I almost expected Catherine to say "I want to be left alone". Wonderful moment.

Sorry haters, I'm not one of you as I was totally taken by Catherine Deneuve's wonderful performance in Indochine. Catherine put on an incredibly subtle but extremely haunting performance that is unforgettable for me. She got everything right and despite the screentime issues she really amazed me.

What do you think?

Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish

Mary McDonnell received her second Oscar nomination for playing May-Alice Culhane, a paralysed and quite bitchy soap opera actress in Passion Fish. I guess McDonnell was not a major player for the Academy Award in 1992. Although many people must have liked her, she wasn't famous enough to get ahead of Michelle or Susan. I guess she had to settle for a comfortable fourth placed and she had to say eventually that it's an honor just to be nominated.

Passion Fish was the most pleasant surprise of the films I've seen for this year. I didn't expect anything but a lame, boring TV movie and yet I saw a beautiful, humorous and lovely film that I would gladly rewatch any time. Everything is so relaxing about it: it's excellently written (might have deserved the Oscar) and directed plus it has a wondeful soundtrack. Overall, it's a wondeful experience, especially if we take a look at the performances. Alfre Woodard is nothing short of amazing in her role. In my opinion, she should have won the Supporting Actress Oscar (she wasn't even nominated). But Nancy Mette's cameo is also brilliant.

Mary McDonnell (in my opinion) is a really good actress. I wouldn't say that I'm a fan of hers but I've never been disappointed by her performances. I loved her as Donnie Darko's worried mom, she was reat in Battlestar Galactica (at least in the 5 minutes I saw) and I also loved her in Dances with Wolves (I know, I know). So I didn't expect a towering achievement from her in Passion Fish, only a very entertaining piece of work that relaxes me. And hold on to your seats: she lived up to all of my expectations. In fact, she went beyond them. But more on that later.

McDonnell plays May-Alice, a bitchy soap opera actress who's forced to live in a wheelchair, depending on nurses and she's a bit fed up with the whole situation. In fact, none of the nurses is able ti put up with her, except for Alfre Woodard's character. First we see how they are getting to know each other and such things. Their relationship doesn't go the way one would expect and yet everything is believable about them. Both actresses are at the top of their game, so they work wonderfully together. I felt no competition between them and they really seemed to be very supportive of each other. They were never trying to play each other off and that's really great, in my opinion. I think this works mostly with women. I think male actors tend to be much more competitive in movies than female actors and this movie was another proof of that thought of mine. Alfre Woodard is amazing (as I said) but she never overshadows Mary McDonnell and steps over at her big scenes.

Mary McDonnell's performance as May-Alice (just like Passion Fish) is a very interesting mix of comedy and drama. I would say it's very bittersweet. When I read the story and the reviews about her, I thought that she was going to be much more bitchy and mean and yet I really liked her character. There was something adorably human about her. I don't necessarily think that she's that much of a bitch. Her behaviour was understandable in that situation, I guess. However, the bitchy scenes are nailed by McDonnell. She's so incredibly entertaining there and the touch of irony that she gives to the character makes it all perfect. I loved the scene where she's visited by two women who made her life hell at school and then they sucked up to her. McDonnell excells there: the way she says "it was me" or "It's a joke, precious." is hilarious.

A somewhat similar scene comes where she meets her castmates from the soap opera. Their conversation is really heart-breaking actually (that "anal probe line" that comes from Nancy Mette is indeed great) and Mary had very much to do with it. The development of May-Alice was best shown there by McDonnell. Somehow, I felt that May-Alice became a different person by her accident. Overall, this character had much more layers than one would initially think. McDonnell was very tricky that way but I did not really mind. It was just excellent.

And I didn't even mention the tender scenes with her and David Strathairn. I loved how Mary suggested that May-Alice begins to fall in love. And the scene with the passion fish is indeed great. Somehow, May-Alice seems to be much calmer and kinder in time.

Overall, this is a wonderful performance that I loved from the beginning to the end. Although it's not a mindblowing piece of work, it's still exceptional and should be much more often talked about. Mary McDonnell created a very memorable and much more layered character than one would expect. She excellently shows this character's pain plus she's a real treat to watch.

Final prediction time! :)

Susan Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil

Susan Sarandon received her third Oscar nomination for playing Michaela Odone, a woman who's desperately fighting for the life of her son in the movie Lorenzo's Oil. If I really think about it, Susan Sarandon might have even been second to Emma Thompson in the voting. First of all, she was a previous nominee and many think she should have won the previous year for Thelma and Louise. Moreover, her role in Lorenzo's Oil is very sympathetic and I feel that the Academy must have been moved by this very simple story.

Lorenzo's Oil is a really good movie, in my opinion. It's way better than some say and I never felt it too long or boring. It's very well directed and written (though some say the opposite). Lorenzo's Oil really has a purpuse and I loved that it didn't just work for the tears. In fact, I felt it was really interesting from a point of view. Nick Nolte's performance is constantly bashed but I don't think that he was that terrible. Sure, the accent was overdone but apart from that, he wasn't that bad. I must underline Margo Martindale's performance which, in my opinion, should have been recognised some way. It's great that the world is realising how great she is.

Susan Sarandon is a very intelligent, interesting actress who was probably the greatest diva of the ninties. Sure, some might argue with that but I think that she's more than special. That being said, I had somewhat high expectations from this performance of hers in Lorenzo's Oil and she actually lived up to them much more than I would've thought. It's no wonder that she was asked to play Michaela after Michelle Pfeiffer dropped out (wonder if she had won the Oscar with this part). Sarandon has all the necessary qualities to play Michaela. Intelligence, subtlty and a very expressive face.

Michaela seems to be a cliché role and yet in Susan's interpretation she doesn't seem to be one. In fact, Susan added so many layers to her and totally inhabited her. The best thing about this work was that (just like the movie) Susan didn't do this for the tears. You can feel the commitment in her to play such a part. I felt that not only did she understand all the problems of this character but she also added a deeper meaning to her feelings. There's some kind of a universal nature in this part. Susan doesn't play only Michaela, she plays all the mothers in the world, shows their reactions and we also get to see her struggle.

Another thing that I love about her is that she never falls into the traps of such a role. She never becomes the mother in the corner whose teary eyes are visible and says uplifting monologues about her child. In fact, Susan makes her really hard to like. She shows all the meltdowns and dark moments of this woman who's haunted by her own demons. She becomes hysterical with the nurses and doctors and yet there's an incredible amount of love and tenderness in her when we see her talking to her child. This really sounds like a cliché but it isn't really. As I said, Susan always gives believable reactions.

I think she also works well with Nick Nolte. Although I don't think that Nolte is that terrible, he's still much weaker than Sarandon. However, Susan was able to find a perfect balance and that way it all worked. They (or at least Susan) really seemed to be very supportive of each other, never trying to outplay the other. I never noticed any selfishness in Sarandon's work.

There are some really emotional moments and Sarandon nailed them all. Her famous "Fly to Baby Jesus" moment is a really hearbreaking scene (despite its surprising shortness). However, I liked the ending more when she realises that there's still some hope for her son. She never becomes soappy at all, which is a pretty great achievement.

Just like her whole performance, as Susan Sarandon is really memorable and moving as Michaela Odone, a woman who refuses to give up on her son's life. Although she's nothing truly mindblowing, she works extremely well with the characters and shows her emotions exceptionally. Really great work.

What do you think?

Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field

Michelle Pfeiffer received her third Oscar nomination for playing Lurene Hallett, a bored housewife who idolizes Jackie Kennedy in Love Field. Michelle, Michelle. After becoming the victim of one of the biggest Oscar injustices in history with her brilliant performance in The Fabulous Baker Boys, one would expect the Academy to make up for their stupid mistake. I think she might have been second in the end but a third place is more likely. Although this performance is far from her brilliant turn in The Fabulous Baker Boys, I wouldn't be pissed about a make-up award for her.

Love Field is a very small but entertaining movie which is a little bit clichéd and predictable despite the brilliant idea. I think with Lurene's character, this could have been an even more interesting story (the Jackie Kennedy storyline becomes secondary in the end, unfortunately). This way, it's just a very decent flick which is watchable once or twice but you wouldn't want to see it often. Although Denzel Washington was intended to play the lead, Dennis Haysbert was a fine choice, in my opinion. He gives a performance that's really similar to his work in Far from Heaven.

I so love Michelle Pfeiffer. Although I don't consider myself a real fan of hers, I do admire her a lot. She's so damn talented and beautiful and that combination makes her the perfect movie star. I really wish that she got a role really worthy of her talent and greatness (one that could win her the Oscar). Because of that, I would have had big expectations from her performance in Love Field but after the mixed reviews, I decided to just watch her.

This is a pretty divisive work. Some go crazy for it, some not so much and some don't like it at all. First, I'd say that I liked her in this movie but I wasn't really blown away. If you have a knockout performance (like Michelle had with The Fabulous Baker Boys) that could be the worst curse on you. While I was watching Love Field, I always thought "Oh, she's pretty good but she was SO much better in Baker Boys." I so wanted to focus exclusively on this performance but somehow I never totally managed to do so.

First, I cannot really decide if her role was really difficult. Sure, the Texan accent is difficult to pull off (I guess, I never tried it to tell the truth :P) and some are criticsing her for her accent. For me, it was absolutely no problem. In fact, I felt that Michelle meant to exaggerate it in order to make Lurene more annoying. I liked that Michelle was able to make me relate to the character despite the fact that she was quite annoying sometimes. Lurene doesn't have a goal in her life, except for making it to JFK's funeral so that she could comfort Jackie. On the road she meets a black man and her daughter. Eventually, she fails, she's searched for, arrested and so on.

Michelle's chemistry with Dennis Haysbert is quite good (don't expect like the one with Jeff Bridges, Baker Boys again, shut up). I really believed the tension between them and they seemed like an odd but somehow realistic couple. I was surprised by the love scene between them but it worked for me, really.

I liked how Michelle showed that something became really important for Lurene. She handles the big emotional scenes very well and I really felt for her character. She didn't even overdo the quite sentimental ending. In fact, she made it quite touching. Despite the illogical things in the screenplay (I mean his couch potato husband turns out to be an aggressive bastard), Michelle was able to keep the story very realistic.

In the end, I'm a bit clueless about how I felt about this performance. I mean, I really liked it and it was surely very entertaining as I was watching it but it was not something that really blew my socks off. Michelle is very good as Lurene, making her a very likeable person despite the fact that we shouldn't really like her. I appreciate the effort, it just didn't blow me away. But there's something about her that makes me really like her.

The rating was not easy at all. This 4 has a lot to do with my generousity and the fact that I gave a 4 to Judi in Iris and Michelle was better.

What do you think?

Emma Thompson in Howards End

Emma Thompson received her first Academy Award for playing Margaret Schlegel, the heroine of E.M. Forster's in the Best Picture nominated adaptation of the novel Howards End. Right now, it seems to be that Emma Thompson's win was pretty locked, which is surprising for many reasons. Of course, the Academy has always had a thing for the British but it's still surprising that they gave her the win for a low-key performance over superstars like Michelle Pfeiffer. Emma Thompson's win is one of the most original picks by the Academy as they really seemed to be voting for the performance that they considered the best.

What a movie! I didn't use to be one of the major fans of Howards End but that might just change now. When I saw the DVD, I was hesitant to buy it but boy now I'm so glad that I did. This is such a beautiful, wonderful, fantastic, spectacular, gripping, excting, romantic and unforgettable film. Although I'm not much of a fan of the Ivory-Merchant duo, I was totally taken by this one. I'd say all the nominations were worthy the wins for Adapted Screenplay and Art Direction were richly deserved and I would have given it the win for Picture, Cinematography and Score. Vanessa Redgrave was very good in this role but hers was probably the only nomination that I wouldn't give out immediately.

Emma Thompson is an excellent actress, in my humble opinion, with a brilliant sense of humor. Her subtle and/or witty acting style always impresses me. She has a wonderful presence on the screen and she always becomes so magnetic despite the fact that her roles are mostly silent and she plays them in a very subtle way. I can see why some don't like her that much. She doesn't have huge breakdowns with tons of tears, she's not tearing her hear and such things. Her type of acting is very delicate, subtle and it contains so much underlying beauty.

In Howards End, Emma Thompson play Margaret Schlegel, a very intelligent woman who's destined to become a spinster but her life turns upside down when her good friend dies and her late husband offers Margaret to marry her. At the beginning of the film, we see the intelligence and the kindness of Margaret shining through the screen and Emma shows it just like she had to. Although in the beginning she's a bit weaker compared to the rest of her performance, she still does a great job at portraying the traits of Margaret. Her scenes with Vanessa Redgrave are excellent and it's wonderful to see two such great actresses together on the screen. I especially loved the Christmas shopping which turned out to be one of the best scenes in the movie.

Another interesting thing that I noticed is that Thompson portrayed Margaret as a woman who plays the role of the mother with her siblings. She's pampering them, conforting them and always tries to do the best for them. The self-sacrificing side of hers is excellently shown by Emma and it resulted in many really moving scenes.

Some are quite critical of Anthony Hopkins' performance as Henry Wilcox, Margaret's husband but I didn't notice the mistakes in his acting while he played with Emma. They really seemed to be enjoying working together and the result of their cooperation speak for themselves. I loved the quiet tension in the scenes where they were arguing with each other. Their big confrontation towards the end is excellently handled by both of them (I loved the way Emma Thompson's neck was twitching when Hopkins shouted at her).

However, Emma does wonders with the roles when also when she's alone and there's nobody else. She has no huge breakdowns but there's one scene where she cries in front of a mirror. A very short, underplayed sequence that had such huge effect on me that I really cannot forget it. It's probably one of the best subtly acted scenes in history. Emma avoids the trap of making this a very huge, loud scene as it really wouldn't fit the character.

Although Margaret Schlegel is a sort of unspectacular character, the performance of Emma Thompson in Howards End is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the little bit slow beginning, I found this work of hers fantastic and I was totally taken by her. It's a true testament to her greatness that the performance is still growing on me and I think so much about it. Excellent job, which gets an extremely strong

It was almost a 5 but I just compared her to some of the ladies and 4,5 seemed to be the most fair grade.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1992

So the nominees were:

• Catherine Deneuve in Indochine
• Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish
• Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field
• Susan Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil
• Emma Thompson in Howards End

This one is said to be a weak year but to me all fields are interesting, so let's see how these great ladies will do.

What do you think? What's your ranking? What's your prediction for my ranking?

Strictly Ballroom (1992) **1/2

(This article is from guest contributor Rick29 and first appeared at http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/.  The rating in the title is my own.)

Scott Hastings is a first-rate ballroom dancer with a problem: He’s a rebel with a cause—and his cause is to expand the boundaries of traditional dancing. Unfortunately, Scott’s goal doesn’t sit well with the Australian Dance Federation nor his dancing partner Liz.

When he gets “boxed in” during a competition, Scott lets loose with some energetic, flashy moves…and promptly gets disqualified. Even worse, Liz walks out on him just weeks before the most important dancing competition of the year—the Pan Pacifics—stating adamantly: “I won’t dance with you until you dance like you’re supposed to.”

Scott’s mother, who operates a small dance studio, is temporarily crushed. She immediately sets out to find a new partner for his son. Unknown to her, the ideal partner is one of her students, a shy inexperienced dancer named Fran. After class one night, Fran approaches Scott about dancing with him. Initially, he brushes her off, but Fran impresses him when she confides: “I want to dance with you—your way—at the Pan Pacifics.”

There is much to enjoy in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom (1992), which works as a quirky comedy, an unlikely romance, and a Cinderella story. At the heart of the film is the marvelous chemistry between leads Paul Mercurio (as Scott) and Tara Morice (as Fran). Ballroom should have done for the charismatic Mercurio what Dirty Dancing did for Patrick Swayze…but, alas, it didn’t. Still, he impresses in Strictly Ballroom, both on the dance floor and in the tender scenes with Morice. She shines , too, and offers a nice vocal on a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.”

Indeed, Lauper’s song provides the background for one of my favorite scenes: a practice montage between Scott and Fran that has them dancing on the studio’s rooftop next to a glittering Coca-Cola sign. But then, fine scenes abound in Strictly Ballroom, as evidenced by a Pasodoble duel between Scott and another character—and a closing scene set to Paul Young’s “Love Is in the Air” that always leaves me with a smile.

There are few surprises in Strictly Ballroom, but that’s all right. It’s one of those movies where you can see where it’s headed and you look forward to getting there. And when it ends just the way you imagined, then you have that satisfying feeling inside. That, my film friends, is what a “feel good” movie is all about.