Gipsy swans

Strictly Ballroom

(1992)

My daughter has been at me to watch this for years--though the "why tonight" is that I both needed a DVR deaccession candidate (something that had been on the hard drive for more than 2 years) and something short, so that I could watch it ahead of the Mets' opener. This fit.

The verdict? Well, it’s very Baz, very young Baz, for better and worse. The first act is cliché-packed, with little to get our attention other than the rare female lead ugly duckling who really starts out . . . well, unattractive.

That would be Fran, and the plot, the central duo’s dance routine, and the film kick in when we meet her Romany family, and they take her partner Scott into their flamenco heart. It started to tug at me then, and by the final act, I couldn’t resist. Good goofy Bazfun.