Razzle Dazzle
DIR: Darren Ashton • WRI: Robin Ince, Carolyn Wilson • PROD: Andrena Finlay, Jodi Matterson • DOP: Garry Phillips • ED: Julie-Anne De Ruvo • DES: Karen Harborow • CAST: Kerry Armstrong, Ben Miller, Nadine Garner, Denise Roberts, Tara Morice, Jane Hall, Tony Lamdond, Barry Crocker, Noeline Brown

Familiarity can quite often ease an audience into a movie, whether it be the tried-and-tested formula of a Bond movie, the slow motion of a John Woo shoot out or the stock characters of a romantic comedy. The difficulty with Razzle Dazzle is from its opening scene, it overloads on the familiar and appears more like a game of spot-the-comparison. The most immediate comparison is with The Office, as a documentary team follows a number of characters through what would normally be considered innocuous surroundings and events – in this case a children’s dance competition. The style of The Office always borrowed heavily from the movies of Christopher Guest, so Razzle Dazzle sets itself up immediately to be compared with these revered pieces of work. It presents one-on-one interviews with idiosyncratic characters, catching private moments and cringeworthy remarks a real documentary maker would kill for.

So too the story resembles a melting pot of every movie ever made about determined parents pushing their children to strive, satisfying the lack of fulfilment in their own lives (Drop Dead Gorgeous,Little Miss Sunshine), fused with the eccentric campery associated with Australian films that have been a success outside of that country (Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding). The first character we meet, Mr Jonathan (Ben Miller), will not initially endear you to the film. Mr Jonathan is the teacher of the dance school at the centre of the story, and is a frustratingly inconsistent character. He is a contrived attempt to capture the spirit of David Brent, with Steven Seagal as a role model and delusions of achieving great ends with his dance themes when they are ultimately born of self-centred motives. And as we immerse ourselves further in the world of the film it continues to smack of unimaginative effort.

Slowly, signs of redemption appear as the story grows into a crowd-pleasing underdog tale.  Mr Jonathan emerges as a more sympathetic character as he struggles against the odds to direct his troupe to glory. The story gathers momentum and earns our interest. Credit is due to the great ensemble cast. Motherly love, ranging from bullying to smothering to quietly supportive, is everywhere on display. The performance of Kerry Armstrong in particular, as an energiser bunny of determination, driving her daughter to the point of collapse, is both comically black and unnerving. The rival troupe, trained with Full Metal Jacket-type discipline by Ms Elisabeth (Jane Hall), also provides a fertile ground for jokes, but is sadly neglected.

A moment of realisation for Mr Jonathan towards the end of the film summed up my sentiments towards the film. The teacher hits the nail on the head by realising there is no ‘razzle, dazzle’ in his troupe’s act. The same can be said of the film, as we watch our protagonists manoeuvre over the inevitable final hurdle before reaching the inevitable resolution. The film has great heart, as scenes like the charming interlude of characters stitching costumes illustrates. So too are there rich performances and at times wonderfully surreal humour – a dance medley including a bunch of kids in Kiss costumes to the sound of Leo Sayer can‘t but stick in your mind. The overall effect though is a film lacking punch, leaving you amused but uninspired by the lack of originality on screen.

William O’Keeffe
(Read biog here)

Rated PG (see IFCO website for details)
Razzle Dazzle is released on 19th October 2007.
Razzle Dazzle – Official website