I watched this movie wanting (and expecting) to see some great dancing and hear some great Mambo tunes. Instead, I fear I fell victim to utterly false advertising. Where, I ask, WHERE? in this movie is the great Mambo music and dancing that is implied by the title and the box cover??!
The story, while thankfully nice and sweet, is nevertheless so lame I couldn't believe somebody could have concocted such a stupid story. I thought it was supposed to be about Mambo, and a dance contest, all wrapped up in a great love-interest kind of story. Well, all that is in there, but the movie, set in Belfast, Ireland, seems to spend most of its time lightly frittering about with boys' soccer, Catholic-Protestant rivalry, soccer, Belfast politics, more soccer, young men with hang-ups, and more soccer. Oh yeah, and there's a dance contest thrown in there somewhere. And then there's a dance finale that is so lame I had to stifle the painful laughter. And it even takes place (drum roll please ) at halftime during a SOCCER competition!!
The dancing (what pathetically little there is) is so minimal and simplistic it looks like it's just a guy and a girl doing a couple of whirls around the dance floor while wearing fancy costumes and lots of makeup. Big Deal!
The soundtrack music with the possible exception of only a couple of Latino-sounding numbers (was that really even Mambo music??) is just not at all what the title implied (in fact some of the music sounds more like modern Americanized or Hollywoodized pop tunes). Heck, they don't even have much Irish music thrown in (methinks the movie could have used a rousing rendition of Whiskey in the Jar, "Blackball the Daddy-O!").
Kerri Russell (as Lucy) is okay, I guess but maybe I'm only giving her the benefit of the doubt because I liked her so VERY much in one of her earlier films, "The Lottery". But in this film, where she attempts to portray a young Irish woman, well her Irish accent seems at times very ineffective, almost clumsy. And I'm not sure why they needed to give this part to an American girl anyway. Really, do you mean to tell me that there aren't scores of beautiful young Irish actresses who could have played this part instead? As mentioned above, based on the nature of the movie, there certainly isn't a dauntingly formidable dancing or acting requirement, so I don't think it would have required an endless search for the right lass. Oh well, stupid me, what do I know about the mysteries of casting?
Anyway, I can't recommend this movie to anyone, with the possible exception of young teenagers who have absolutely no sense of music or dance appreciation, and who can't tell the difference between a real Irish brogue and a phony one - and who furthermore don't care. As for me, I CARE about getting real value for my entertainment dollar, and I'm sorry to say, I truly feel ripped off by this rather lame and (IMHO) falsely promoted movie.
(And no, Seattle isn't really the Mambo capital of the world. I just thought that would sound funny. And besides, I'm tired of Grunge.)
The story, while thankfully nice and sweet, is nevertheless so lame I couldn't believe somebody could have concocted such a stupid story. I thought it was supposed to be about Mambo, and a dance contest, all wrapped up in a great love-interest kind of story. Well, all that is in there, but the movie, set in Belfast, Ireland, seems to spend most of its time lightly frittering about with boys' soccer, Catholic-Protestant rivalry, soccer, Belfast politics, more soccer, young men with hang-ups, and more soccer. Oh yeah, and there's a dance contest thrown in there somewhere. And then there's a dance finale that is so lame I had to stifle the painful laughter. And it even takes place (drum roll please ) at halftime during a SOCCER competition!!
The dancing (what pathetically little there is) is so minimal and simplistic it looks like it's just a guy and a girl doing a couple of whirls around the dance floor while wearing fancy costumes and lots of makeup. Big Deal!
The soundtrack music with the possible exception of only a couple of Latino-sounding numbers (was that really even Mambo music??) is just not at all what the title implied (in fact some of the music sounds more like modern Americanized or Hollywoodized pop tunes). Heck, they don't even have much Irish music thrown in (methinks the movie could have used a rousing rendition of Whiskey in the Jar, "Blackball the Daddy-O!").
Kerri Russell (as Lucy) is okay, I guess but maybe I'm only giving her the benefit of the doubt because I liked her so VERY much in one of her earlier films, "The Lottery". But in this film, where she attempts to portray a young Irish woman, well her Irish accent seems at times very ineffective, almost clumsy. And I'm not sure why they needed to give this part to an American girl anyway. Really, do you mean to tell me that there aren't scores of beautiful young Irish actresses who could have played this part instead? As mentioned above, based on the nature of the movie, there certainly isn't a dauntingly formidable dancing or acting requirement, so I don't think it would have required an endless search for the right lass. Oh well, stupid me, what do I know about the mysteries of casting?
Anyway, I can't recommend this movie to anyone, with the possible exception of young teenagers who have absolutely no sense of music or dance appreciation, and who can't tell the difference between a real Irish brogue and a phony one - and who furthermore don't care. As for me, I CARE about getting real value for my entertainment dollar, and I'm sorry to say, I truly feel ripped off by this rather lame and (IMHO) falsely promoted movie.
(And no, Seattle isn't really the Mambo capital of the world. I just thought that would sound funny. And besides, I'm tired of Grunge.)