I somewhat enjoyed this movie at the time, mainly because of its ballet theme, and it certainly boasts beautiful dance sequences with real life ballerinas, Leslie Browne and Mikhail Baryshnikov. However, the characters are pretty stereotypical and it's all basically middle aged naval gazing as to what life might have been and the road not taken.
The story revolves around two women who have chosen disparate life paths, both revolving around ballet. Deedee left the dance company years ago to marry a fellow dancer & raise a family, but now runs a ballet school in Oklahoma. Emma remained with the company and became a prima ballerina, but at the expense of any family life, and her dance career is now waning. Deedee's daughter, Emilia, is also a ballerina. When Emma takes her on as sort of a protégé and tries to advance her position within the dance company, Deedee feels resentful.
The cast here is certainly competent. Shirley MacLaine (Deedee) and Anne Bancroft (Emma) are both convincing as the two very different women. Tom Skerritt plays Deedee's husband, Wayne, though I prefer his interaction with Shirley MacLaine in their later movie, Steel Magnolias. The young ballerinas, Browne (Emilia) and Baryshnikov (Yuri)...well, their main function is to dance. Their romance proved of no interest to me whatsoever. I found Emilia's drunken scene silly, and noted another's comment that in a real life dance company, she'd be severely reprimanded for this.
This movie has some pretty stereotypical jealousies, looking longingly at the life you don't have and wondering if you made the wrong choices way back when. Years earlier, Deedee & Emma were competing for a lead role in their dance company when Deedee became pregnant & married, leaving Emma with the role and a successful dance career. Now they are both looking back, Deedee jealous of Emma's star career and Emma envying Deedee's family (husband & three children) while she has only her dogs for company. All these feelings are brought to the forefront as they watch the young Emilia at the beginning of her dance career and also romantically involved with Yuri. These doubts and regrets are not uncommon in middle age, but the old career versus marriage & family theme just isn't very original.
Also, I found the cat fight near the end between the two women, Emma & Deedee, absurd and merely succumbing to the ridiculous popularity of cat fighting among cinema audiences. This did not add class to this movie (which, frankly, might have been classier) or any stars to my rating.
On the whole, it's a forgettable film. The entire glimpse into the world of ballet elicited some interest and the dancing is magnificent. Otherwise, famous cast or not, it's not really a movie worth bothering with unless you're madly keen on ballet. As another reviewer commented, it isn't very involving and there's really no one to cheer for.
The story revolves around two women who have chosen disparate life paths, both revolving around ballet. Deedee left the dance company years ago to marry a fellow dancer & raise a family, but now runs a ballet school in Oklahoma. Emma remained with the company and became a prima ballerina, but at the expense of any family life, and her dance career is now waning. Deedee's daughter, Emilia, is also a ballerina. When Emma takes her on as sort of a protégé and tries to advance her position within the dance company, Deedee feels resentful.
The cast here is certainly competent. Shirley MacLaine (Deedee) and Anne Bancroft (Emma) are both convincing as the two very different women. Tom Skerritt plays Deedee's husband, Wayne, though I prefer his interaction with Shirley MacLaine in their later movie, Steel Magnolias. The young ballerinas, Browne (Emilia) and Baryshnikov (Yuri)...well, their main function is to dance. Their romance proved of no interest to me whatsoever. I found Emilia's drunken scene silly, and noted another's comment that in a real life dance company, she'd be severely reprimanded for this.
This movie has some pretty stereotypical jealousies, looking longingly at the life you don't have and wondering if you made the wrong choices way back when. Years earlier, Deedee & Emma were competing for a lead role in their dance company when Deedee became pregnant & married, leaving Emma with the role and a successful dance career. Now they are both looking back, Deedee jealous of Emma's star career and Emma envying Deedee's family (husband & three children) while she has only her dogs for company. All these feelings are brought to the forefront as they watch the young Emilia at the beginning of her dance career and also romantically involved with Yuri. These doubts and regrets are not uncommon in middle age, but the old career versus marriage & family theme just isn't very original.
Also, I found the cat fight near the end between the two women, Emma & Deedee, absurd and merely succumbing to the ridiculous popularity of cat fighting among cinema audiences. This did not add class to this movie (which, frankly, might have been classier) or any stars to my rating.
On the whole, it's a forgettable film. The entire glimpse into the world of ballet elicited some interest and the dancing is magnificent. Otherwise, famous cast or not, it's not really a movie worth bothering with unless you're madly keen on ballet. As another reviewer commented, it isn't very involving and there's really no one to cheer for.