Strictly Ballroom

PG

Released Feb 12, 1993

1 hr. 32 min.

Musical

Comedy

TRAILER

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List

88%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A top ballroom dancer pairs with a plain, left-footed local girl when his maverick style earns him the disdain of his more conventionally-minded colleagues. Together, the team gives it their all and makes dreams of the National Championship title come true.

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Critics Consensus

As emotionally rich as it is eye-catching, Strictly Ballroom uses its infectious energy as the fuel for a modern dance classic with all the right moves.

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Kyle C

Very fun and well choreographed once it gets out of the stuffy ballroom that holds back the first half of the film. Once it's going, everything comes together with emotional beats, big reveal, and good humor. This movie sits somewhere on the satire spectrum but continues with an air of self-importance that is somewhat off putting. Also everybody in the movie is insufferable, but it's a dance drama, so 🤷

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

Full Review

Timothy S

One of my all-time favorite movies. Yes, it's campy but the plot is actually pretty fun and there are plenty of laughs along the way. I would say this is one of the few movies I could recommend to anybody to watch and guarantee they'll like it and I've seen it so many times I've lost count.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/04/23

Full Review

Georgan G

3 & 1/4 stars. The dancers are incredible and the costumes sparkly, but the story is really about being an outsider.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/16/23

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tristan c

Strictly Ballroom is a fairly enjoyable film. Being a Baz Luhrmann film, there are many things in the movie that I didn't enjoy but other audiences may enjoy these things. There are things in the movie such as the dancing, storyline and costumes that can certainly be admired. However overall, the movie isn't my cup of tea and I won't be watching it again.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I think my Baz Luhrmann journey will be full of surprises! His direction is unpredictable, sometimes visually rich and frenzy, and sometimes quiet and pacific, and he intersperses these different tones in unexpected moments. I liked it, it makes the movie seem a bit less generic. Paul Mercurio starts like an arrogant protagonist, but he's swallowed by an archaic system and finally discovered how to get out of it, but he's afraid. Tara Morice surprised me: her chemistry with Paul Mercurio was instantaneous, her character is as deep as Mercurio's and her family is a cool plot twist. The dance sequences are fantastic to watch. They're gorgeous, well-filmed and have the energy they should. About the ballroom universe: Pat Thompson does the protagonist's mother and she managed to be as generic as Sophia Heikkila from "Hatching", her character is painful to watch. Bill Hunter is the generic evil president and Gia Carides is the generic ex-partner. Despite being a movie about ballroom, it's a lot better when it's not, and surprisingly, this is a compliment, because it's an uninviting, boring and restrictive universe (the first act is by far the most boring one) from which the protagonist is desperate to escape (so does Barry Otto, who should have more screen time). The romance between the protagonists also takes a much bigger turn than it needed, but the couple is so cool that it's not a really big problem.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fantastic! A must see film. Mr. Luhrmann directs a classic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/02/22

Full Review

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Baz Luhrmann

Director

Paul Mercurio

Scott Hastings

Tara Morice

Fran

Bill Hunter

Barry Fife

Barry Otto

Doug Hastings

Pat Thompson

Shirley Hastings

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Strictly Ballroom: Trailer 1

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Peter Stack

San Francisco Chronicle

It's hard to imagine a more exuberant and sheerly romantic comedy than this Australian import... In its mixture of camp and reality, the film is irresistible.

Rated: 4/4

Jan 11, 2023

Full Review

David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

This Australian production requires extreme indulgence -- and not the pleasant kind of indulgence, either, the kind in which you feel yourself to be a capital fellow; in this case, you feel that someone has made a fool of you.

Dec 21, 2022

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Anthony Lane

New Yorker

It’s a good-humored ride for the senses, never too sickly sweet, and who can say no to that?

Mar 14, 2022

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Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

Strictly Ballroom is a ball -- a buoyant, crowd-pleasing musical with an irreverent wit.

Dec 21, 2022

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Quentin Crisp

Christopher Street

Strictly Ballroom contains everything that dancers hate about movies and dancing.

Apr 6, 2022

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PJ Nabarro

Patrick Nabarro

Even if it all feels a tad forced and not particularly funny (to me at least), there's no denying that it's carried through with a relentless farcical drive.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 16, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

A top ballroom dancer pairs with a plain, left-footed local girl when his maverick style earns him the disdain of his more conventionally-minded colleagues. Together, the team gives it their all and makes dreams of the National Championship title come true.

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Executive Producer: Antoinette Albert
Screenwriter: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: AFFC, M & A Film, Beyond Films
Rating: PG
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 12, 1993, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 27, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.1M
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo, Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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