Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
| Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School | |
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 Release poster |
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| Directed by | Randall Miller |
| Produced by | Randall Miller Eileen Craft Eduardo Castro Morris Ruskin Jody Savin |
| Written by | Randall Miller (short film) Jody Savin |
| Starring | Robert Carlyle John Goodman Sean Astin Mary Steenburgen Marisa Tomei |
| Music by | Mark Adler |
| Cinematography | Jonathan Seta |
| Editing by | Randall Miller |
| Distributed by | Samuel Goldwyn Films |
| Release date(s) | January 25, 2005 (Sundance) March 31, 2006 |
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2.5 million |
| Box office | $399,138 |
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School is a 2005 musical romance film produced by Samuel Goldwyn Films and directed by Randall Miller. It is based on a 1990 short film of the same name (fragments of which are interwoven through the film) also featuring Elden Henson.
Plot [edit]
Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle) is a grieving baker in a near catatonic state who happens upon a car accident. The loquacious and insightful victim, Steve Mills (John Goodman), is on his way to an appointment in Pasadena with a years-ago acquaintance; he asks Frank to go in his place. It's a dance class. Frank goes to find Steve's friend. The story moves back and forth among Steve's childhood, the accident scene, and the aftermath of Frank's first Lindy hop.
Frank initially has little success in finding Steve's friend and is uncomfortable being in environment with so many people as a result of his depression. However, he is drawn to shy student Meredith but is cautioned against talking to her by some of the other students, because she is partnered with Randall. Randall is the star pupil of the class but is an obnoxious bully who takes an instant dislike to Frank and tries to intimidate him. Frank is talked into to continuing to attend the class by his friends in grief therapy who soon join him in the class as time goes on. It is also learned throughout the film that Frank's wife committed suicide, thus he has suffered depression as a result of his guilt from not being able to see something was wrong with her until it was too late.
As the class progresses Frank is found to have a natural talent for dance that surpasses Randall, who jealously slashes his tires in an attempt to scare the baker off. Frank ignores the attack against the advice of others and forms a friendship with Meredith - who is revealed to be Randall's stepsister rather than abused girlfriend as was initially believed. Meredith defends her stepbrother's behavior, explaining that it stems from the fact their father was a violent man who was physically abusive to them and Randall is just overly protective of Meredith as a result.
Frank eventually scatters his wife's ashes; an act he had been unwilling to perform in the past, and begins to put his life back together. He also tracks down Steve's childhood friend to inform her of Steve's passing. Although she acts as if it isn't important, she is later shown looking at childhood pictures of Steve and shedding a tear.
Cast [edit]
- Robert Carlyle as Frank Keane
- John Goodman as Steve Mills
- Sean Astin as Kip Kipling
- Mary Steenburgen as Marienne Hotchkiss
- Marisa Tomei as Meredith Morrison
- Donnie Wahlberg as Randall Ipswitch
- David Paymer as Rafael Horowitz
- Camryn Manheim as Lisa Gobar
- Adam Arkin as Gabe DiFranco
- Sonia Braga as Tina
- Elden Henson as Young Steve Mills / Samson
- Ernie Hudson as Blake Rische
- Miguel Sandoval as Matthew Smith
- Octavia Spencer as Ayisha Lebaron
- Danny DeVito as Booth
- Harry Shearer as Promo Announcer
- Ian Abercrombie as Ervin Sezgin
- Mary Pat Gleason as Natasha
External links [edit]
- Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at the Internet Movie Database
- Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (1990) at the Internet Movie Database
- Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School at Box Office Mojo
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