Although we tend to only remember movies that are phenomenal or terrible, the great majority of films in theaters at any given time are simply marginal. Right now, we are still in the midst of the post-Oscar slump, so there is an inordinate amount of bottom-denominator crap like The Shaggy Dog\ and ""The Benchwarmers"" clogging up the multiplex, but as the summer nears, we should be seeing more of a balance in quality. In other words, for every great film in theaters, there will be half a dozen exceedingly average movies there to accompany it.
""Take the Lead"" is a nearly impeccable example of an average movie occupying that vast gray area between blockbuster and turkey. It is a typical star vehicle assembled from better movies: a marriage of the dance sub-genre (""Shall We Dance?"") and the faux-gritty ""the kids aren't alright"" sub-genre (""To Sir, With Love,"" ""The Blackboard Jungle"") with an updated hip-hop flavor. Antonio Banderas carries the film as Pierre Dulane, a ludicrously altruistic ballroom dance instructor who volunteers to teach ballroom dance to a motley crew of New York high-schoolers in detention. They initially resist him, then grudgingly acquiesce to his unconventional methods and then excel in competition against the elitist rich kids at Dulane's upscale dance academy.
The sullen high school ensemble is comprised of the most basic archetypes: the Eminem wannabe, three dull participants in a contentious love triangle, the goofy dork, the lovable fat guy, the polite white-bread preppie who fits in better with the ghetto kids, the condescending bitch-on-wheels dancer, etc. This is the kind of movie where the most troubled kids are the ones who also happen to be the most talented and attractive, so of course, they get their very own belabored subplot. Despite some energy in the dance choreography, this film is as garden-variety as they come.
Banderas preens and prances to great effect nonetheless, and manages to create an enthusiastic performance out of what little Dianne Houston's paint-by-numbers screenplay gives him. The few inspired moments in ""Take the Lead"" can be solely attributed to Banderas, who milks this cheesy material for all its worth. You can say what you will about Banderas' acting, but it's never boring, and his ever-present zeal is at least diverting.
But even his character feels more like a sketch than a human being. The film never presents any insight or reasoning behind his sudden eagerness to teach these losers how to dance. Instead, he comes across as an asexual bundle of chivalry and earnestness, and this lack of complexity serves to further emphasize what a standard, simplified Hollywood affair this is.
""Take the Lead"" is ""Stand and Deliver"" with the foxtrot instead of calculus, and ""Dangerous Minds"" with Gershwin instead of Bob Dylan. It isn't cloying or manipulative, just rather bland and unexciting. You'd be better off getting off your ass and signing up for a ballroom dance course than paying to slog through a marginal movie like ""Take the Lead.""
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