"Inspired by a True Story" or "Based on a True Story" has never meant something good to me when it comes to inspirational (or sport) films. What I get for two hours is normally a cliché, predictable film. Take the Lead is Music Video Director Liz Friedlander's first film and while it is a predictable film, it's also a fun movie. It's filled with great performances, amazing choreography and a nice, simple script that doesn't follow all of the normal clichés for this kind of film...for the most part.

Antonio Banderas (ORIGINAL SIN) was really good here. It was a simple part, no doubt but he played it with great range. His performance will not be why people remember the movie, the choreography is. Antonio plays a dance teacher. He mainly teaches "rich white people." On a late Saturday night, when he sees a young black man destroy a car, he finds a picture of the owner: a license saying she can part anywhere on school grounds. The following Monday he goes and speaks with her. The conversation ends with him asking to teach detention students ballroom dancing. At first, the students respond with negative behavior but as time goes on, they see the art and difficulty of the sport and eventually start to enjoy it.

Does it sound cliché? Sure. It's a cliché script that has been done to death many times (and better). Personally, I found Julia Stiles' film SAVE THE LAST DANCE better than TAKE THE LEAD but both were good, fun films. A reason I might have liked the former film more is because I am a fan of the lead actress. With TAKE THE LEAD, I'm not a fan of anyone, except Alfre Woodard, who plays the principal. I thought her performance was the best in the film. It was a heartwarming, great performance. I've never seen Antonio in a film before, to my knowledge anyway. I've always thought he seemed kind of sleezy and he's never really made a film that has interested me.

The thing that brings the film down is what clichés it has. While there aren't a bunch, there are still some. The film follows "Murphy's Law" which states, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. I can tell you right now that in about the first five minutes of the film, you'll be able to guess what will happen in the end. At the beginning of a scene you should know nothing about, you'll be able to know exactly what happens before the incident occurs.

TAKE THE LEAD is a nice, fun Saturday kind of film. It's sure to have great word-of-mouth due to it's inspirational story line, good acting and fantastic cinematography. While it is forgettable, it's also a film the whole family will enjoy and then some.

7/10 ( B )

oh yea ...

awful film.

Did you even see it? I don't see how someone could say it's AWFUL. It's a fun crowd pleaser.

Yeah it was. I thought it looked bad from the previews but it's actually very entertaining and a definite crowd pleaser. People clapped where I saw it. Banderas did a very good job in a role perfect for him.

saw it weeks ago at showest. awful cliche ridden stereotyped film. the director came out to greet us. i just felt ... like hitting her.

the only thing good about the film was that white guy and the 2 black leads.

Well we've all seen this movie before - bunch of losers/underdogs; inspirational teacher/coach; the big game/competition finale - but here it was done good (again!). I don't think Antonio Banderas ever puts in a poor performance, and the mix of ballroom and hip-hop was fun and exciting. No miracle, but a well done genre flick...

4 out of 5.

Yawn.

C