It’s time for our April Smart Bitches Movie Matinee, where we all watch a romantic movie, possibly a comedy, when it’s most convenient, then convene on the last Sunday of the month to discuss together!
This month, I bring you a conversation wherein RedHeadedGirl, Amanda, and Carrie explain this month’s pick.
Sarah: This month’s movie is Strictly Ballroom, which I have never seen. Why do I have to see this movie?
Redheadedgirl: Baz Luhrmann does competitive ballroom dancing.
Amanda: Get ready for a numbered list.
- Australians
- Costumes
- An Ugly Duckling romance
- COSTUMES
- Quirky af
- Sassy children
- Did I mention the costumes yet?
Redheadedgirl: OMG THE COSTUMES!
It’s so Baz.
Like, you though Moulin Rouge was peak Baz?
It was not.
Amanda: And it uses “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps” by Doris Day (this is the actual scene from the movie, so be warned) in the soundtrack and words cannot express how much I love that song.
Redheadedgirl: I forgot about that scene.
I am so happy for you that you get to experience this for the first time.
Carrie: The music!
So, you ready for some eyeball candy of the highest grade, plus romance? Yay! And good news: Strictly Ballroom is available on Netflix!
It is also available on iTunes and Amazon, and the DVD can be found at your local library, or very cheaply online in new and used condition from Amazon or Alibris.
Ooh, I love that movie so much! Enjoy!
One of my absolute favorite movies.
I love all the characters, its great to get engaged in a movie and have to forget, its “insert major star who has to be in every major movie” the dancing is great. one of my favorite movies. I love the Doris day song and I even liked the Cindy Lauper song after this movie. A must have the final dance scene…amazing
sorry meant not have to forget. I remember out of Africa and I was enjoying in and then all of a sudden Robert Redford shows up and then all I could think is what is Robert Redford doing in this movie
I was just talking about this movie to someone this week. I love this movie! It is definitely peak Baz Luhrman and it manages to be both sweet and, in spots, completely surreal. And I love the final dance scene!
Love this movie. And the Doris Day scene is one of the sexiest ever.
My future husband & I saw this at the local art house movie theater when it came out. We had never heard of Baz, had no idea what to expect. Because of the way it starts out, it took us a while to figure out if we were meant to giggle at the over-the-topness of it all, but when we/it finally hit the groove we loved it. It’s one of our favorite movies! The lines are now frequently (randomly) dropped into our conversation. We even have it on VHS I think! (It’s hard to get the films these days. It’s all video, video, video…)
😀
So much fun!
Loved this movie. Will watch every time I find it on TV which isn’t often enough. There’s some crazysauce but mostly Strictly Ballroom is just awesome. You should watch it. Right now!
This movie is one of the great trio of Aussie films that all came out around the same time — the others are Muriel’s Wedding and Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert– And I think I’ve seen this one about ten times. So awesome. Quintessential Baz movie.
Such a great choice! In the space of six months in 1993, I saw SB in the theatre TEN times because I kept bringing different groups of friends to see it. I can’t wait for the discussion!
(Also, the actress who plays Fran is singing “Time After Time” there.)
@cotterpinx, I too have it on VHS! And dvd and blu-ray. I even boyght the script/book that was adapted from the screenplay with stills from the film. (Yes, I loved the movie that much.)
Paul Mercurio’s dancing is amazing. His acting isn’t great, but his dance scenes in the movie would make me forgive far greater offenses.
I first saw this when I was around 7-8 years old when my much older sisters rented it. I didn’t quite catch everything back then but I knew there was something special about the movie that Disney couldn’t do. It’s still one of my favorite movies ever with the cheeky, over the top characters and gorgeous costumes. I remember watching this and thinking that there was MAGIC in this movie.
When he slides across the dance floor on his knees? Wow. Played over and over and …
Saw this film three times in a theater when it came out, including going by myself to cheap Wednesday afternoon matinee on school break. Had a cassette tape of the soundtrack. Haven’t seen it in years, but still have a soft spot for it. So glad it’s getting reviewed!
This is one of my favorite movies of all time and is the reason I will always watch anything Baz Luhrman creates regardless of content. He’s never quite matched the brilliance of this movie, though. It just makes me smile so hard. The humor, the over-the-top ridiculousness, the music, the costumes, the dancing, the romance, sigh…. Can’t wait to read everyone’s thought on it!
@Pamelia – if you like Australian films of the 1990s, have you seen “Flirting”? Tremendously sweet story of first love. Highly recommended, although there’s no HEA, or at least it’s ambiguous what happens.
Did you ladies at the bitchery go through my movie collection? I have all the movies we’ve watched so far.
I too have loved this movie from the start. I first heard about it from Roger Ebert’s review, but I had to wait for it to come out on video because the smaller movies didn’t come to my area. Because of this movie, I give Baz Luhrman a watch whenever he has a new one, but for me, none of his films have matched the charm of this one.
I LOVE LOVE this movie!! It is such a great story & the dancing. As someone who grew up watching ballroom dancing on PBS with her mom, it brings back great memories. Absolutely one of my “go to” movies when I am in a sad crappy mood!! Enjoy it!!!
i haven’t seen this since it came out, when i LURVED it. time to watch with my kids!
I re-watch this film at least once a year. It’s just the best thing.
LOVE this movie. It’s quirky (downright weird at times!) and funny and romantic and just fun to watch. It has that alternate universe feel to it that Baz Luhrmann does so well.
I love this movie even more than Dirty Dancing!
The villainous Barry Fife in the ‘Perhaps’ scene reminds me a bit too much of Donald Trump though – augh 🙁
I spent one (horrible month) as a Fred Astaire ballroom dance teacher, with all the attendant pro-am competitions, and this movie is not over-the-top hyperbole, it’s a perfect, completely factual documentary. It is the best.
I love this movie! I can hardly wait to watch it again. Great choice!
I don’t remember this movie, but I was busy getting married that year.
I’ve always loved that movie! You can also watch it on YouTube — it’s the Australian TV version, with a few random commercials, but it’s fine and it’s free that way. 🙂
Oh how I love this movie! The season of Dancing with the Stars when Kym, newly arrived from Australia, choreographed a rumba to Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps I was GEEKING OUT and it got these rather poor marks and I just booed at the screen. Because I adore Strictly Ballroom and I love the surreal romanticism of that sequence. Must watch it again!
The husband and I occasionally goof on each other by announcing mid-discussion: You’re a SELFISH DANCER. Then we laugh.
And bonus Cousin Nikki from MBFGW!!!
I love this movie so very much… it’s the movie version of a comfort read for me, one of the ones I pull out whenever I want to curl up with my cat and a cup of tea.
And under the topic of Australian films of the 90s, there was one that was released in the U.S. as “One Crazy Night,” but the Australian title was “Secrets.” I saw it on video back in the 90s, and loved it, but I don’t think it ever made it to DVD. ~sob~ It was like an Australian version of “The Breakfast Club,” but set in the 1960s.
Hm, but it now appears to be on Amazon Prime. That might finally get me to sign up for that.
This is my favorite movie! The story is so sweet, the costumes are luscious, the dancing is wonderful – it just doesn’t get better than this!
This is quite possibly my favourite film of all time. I quote from it all the time and no-one else understands 🙁
Ha ha! I brought this just in case!
One of my faves! Some Buzzfeed list the other day made me want to rewatch it, and now there’s this. Okay, universe, I get what you’re telling me.
I love this movie. And the soundtrack is glorious too!
Yaaaasssss! I heart this movie so hard. Great soundtrack, fabulous dance scenes (I think the paso doble is my favorite), it’s absolute joy in how over-the-top it is. I love it all. And now I have an excellent excuse to re-watch it 🙂
**Gah!! Its, not it’s. Why do you never see this things until AFTER you post?
This, really self? Now I just give up.
I’ve seen Strictly Ballroom approximately a dozen times. It has a permanent place in our jukebox. I started ballroom dancing after seeing the Japanese movie “Shall We Dance?” three times, later discovered Strictly Ballroom, which I re-watch more often than SWD because SWD makes me cry. (But it also has some LOL moments.)
Paul Mercurio was a highly-regarded professional theatrical dancer in Australia and learned ballroom for the movie. I love the fake-documentary framing for SB, and I think the class/culture conflicts in the movie are substantive. As a dancer, I also think it’s (unfortunately) very believable that Scott would accept being partnered with a dancer more likely to get him his championship. It’s also very believable that he would then chuck it all with a flamboyant “fuck this shit, Imma do my thing!” Dancers are artists and sometimes you have to go with your heart.
If anyone seeing SB has never seen a real ballroom competition, the main things to take with a giant chunk of salt are the lengthy dance presentations. A solo showcase might run for a full song, but most competitive group rounds are less than two minutes. 🙂
Oddly, while I have seen dancers re-create the famous finale number from “Dirty Dancing” and even the iconic “Cheek to Cheek” number from Astaire & Rogers’ “Top Hat,” I have never seen anyone re-create the Strictly Ballroom paso doble. I would pay to see that.
Incidentally, every rumba routine we have ever done has magically worked perfectly to Doris Day’s “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps.” It’s a mystery.
Where has this movie been all my life?!
This movie. Is. The. Best.
And not on UK Netflix 🙁
If there was any question that SBTB was my holy grail website (there wasn’t) this post would have assured it. LOVE.THIS.MOVIE. Also the potential halloween costumes from this movie is epic.