The Hollywood Reporter believes that this plaintive film is likely to win over audiences, if not critics. Indeed my cautious approval was in sharp contrast to that of a target-market viewer who loved Randall Miller’s feature-length update of his film-school project. Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, now with an all-star cast, is a curious tale that flirts with the mainstream while trying to assert its indie roots.

It is reluctantly old-fashioned while embracing some aggressive styles. It is highly entertaining and at times, downright dull. Miller, with two Oscar winners in the cast, is like a kid overwhelmed by a candy store, uncertain about what to do with all the rich, sweet material. Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle) is a lost soul, grieving his wife’s suicide. When he stumbles upon a car crash, a dying man (John Goodman) urges him to fulfil a forty year old promise to meet his sweetheart at Hotchkiss. Frank tries and fate smiles as he strikes up a relationship with Meredith (Marisa Tomei) under the watchful gaze of MC Marienne (Mary Steenburgen). She believes that dance “can release the deepest hidden feelings and colour your life magenta (sic)”. Unlikely for a romantic comedy about dance, death circles each character and gives the production a quirky kick: peace is only a foxtrot away.

// COLIN FRASER