Take the Lead: Difference between revisions
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The film opens with a montage of various people getting dressed for an evening out dancing, some in tails and spats, some in low-rise jeans and short skirts. Here you are introduced for the first time to the main characters of the movie. |
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Rock arrives to the school dance, but the math teacher Mr. Temple ([[John Ortiz]]), accuses him of having a counterfeit ticket due to the obvious water damage. Rock protests, and continues to resist as security begins to rough him up. Principal James ([[Alfre Woodard]]) comes out, but given John’s bad reputation refuses to allow him into the dance. Giving up, Rock leaves and encounters a couple of thugs whom he knows. As they are walking around they notice a car with the principal’s parking pass hanging from the mirror. Easy, one of the thugs, happens to have a golf club, and encourages Rock to get some revenge for being kicked out of the dance. He initially resists and starts to walk away, but after only one mild taunt, comes back and grabs the club. He fakes out the other two, looking like he is going to hit them, but then goes crazy in the car. The alarm is triggered and the other two run away, but Rock keeps hitting. Finally stopping he reaches in to grab the parking pass. |
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In the meantime, Pierre is riding his bike home (still in a full coat and tails), and see’s the car getting destroyed. He comes up, startling Rock. Rock asks Pierre if it is his car, and when Pierre says no, asks why he is coming up behind him. Rock finally starts to run off, but is hit by a cab. He rolls off the hood and starts running again, but he does drop the parking pass, which Pierre takes. |
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The next morning at school, you see kids filing through the metal detectors. Principal James is interacting with them and seems to know all by name. Pierre is also entering the school, where he draws many stares for his suit, and is asked who died. He makes his way to the office to speak with the principal, who is arguing with Mr. Temple who refuses to cover his detention shift and is trying to get funding for Pre-Calculus. Clearly, he feels that only about six of the students in the school are worth his time, and certainly not the detention kids. While waiting, Pierre makes a point for rising and getting the door for every woman going in and out. He is teased about this by one kid, Eddie, but admired by the secretary. |
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Pierre explains that he saw a crime committed by one of the students, and after the principal refers him to the police, reveals that it was her car. He offers to help by teaching dance to the students. She initially resists, but asks him to come back at three, seeing this as a solution to the detention problem. He agrees, though when he is having Tina, his employee at the dance school, this worries her as it is a very busy time. Most of the students will want extra sessions preparing for the competition, and Caitlin’s cotillion is coming up, for which she also needs extra coaching. He promises her that it will all work out. |
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Back at the high school Principal James takes him down long hallways to the dank basement where the detention kids are. These are the worst of the worst, who are in detention for the rest of the year. Rock is there, as well as Eddie. The principal bets Pierre five dollars that he will not come back after today, but does tell the students to do everything he says. He starts by trying to break them into partners, but there are a few conflicts. Big Girl and Mountain are a good size match, but are cousins. He ends up with Egypt, but she ends up with Kurd, whom she does not want to touch because who knows where his hands have been. He then sticks his hands in his pants, which does not help. Danjou and Ramos both want to be with Sasha, and LaRhette refuses to dance with Rock, though does not explain why. They do not get very far, and when he goes out there is not very much of his bike left. |
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The next morning he shows up to collect his five dollars from the principal (you later see him put it on his bulletin board at the dance school), but also asks about Rock and LaRhette. She explains that Rock’s brother was involved with some gang activity that escalated into a gang war, and one of the casualties was LaRhette’s brother, an honor student. That afternoon Rock has brought a forged doctor’s note saying that he can’t dance due to a heart condition. Pierre does not press the issue. He does see the others dancing to their own music in their own style, and is impressed, but cannot get them to cooperate until he turns up the volume on his music, torturing them into submission with Gershwin music. |
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Back at the dance school, Caitlin’s mother is asking for help. Pierre dances with Caitlin, who feels clumsy and has no confidence. She feels pressure because of the money her parents have put into the cotillion, but he tells her she needs to dance for herself. When she says she just wasn’t born to dance, he asks if she likes dancing, to which she admits yes. He says, Then you were born to dance. When Caitlin says she would kill to dance like Morgan, another student with some seriously sensual moves, Pierre gets a brainstorm. |
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The next afternoon Morgan saunters down to detention throws off her coat, and begins a very seductive tango with Pierre. The students are enthralled, and flock around Pierre, except for Sasha who runs to Morgan and gushes that she has never seen anyone move like that. “I’m sure”, Morgan snips. Still, the kids are more amenable to the lessons now. |
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Back at the dance school, Caitlin tells Pierre that Morgan said the kids were a bunch of no talent losers, and askes if she can go too. He agrees, and after some resistance is accepted into the group. This is fortunate because Egypt gets frustrated with Monster’s size, and will not work with him anymore. Caitlin asks him to dance, and uses Pierre’s line about liking to dance meaning that you were born to dance on him. |
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Rock continues to sit on the sidelines. He does have a confrontation with Pierre where he wants to know what Pierre wants from him since he has not told about the car, and where Pierre asks why he keeps coming if he will not dance. Rock’s answer is that if he does not attend detention he will be suspended, and will not be able to graduate. |
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Rock is late for his job sorting garbage/recycling materials, and gets fired. He goes home and finds no food available, even though he gave his mother money to buy food. Apparently his father spent it on liquor. The father blames his health, and he and Rock get into a scuffle and he is kicked out of the house. Rock knocks on the boiler room door at the school and the janitor lets him bunk there. Without a job, he starts helping Easy by acting as a lookout for some theft and fencing operations. |
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Rock, the film's underdog protagonist, arrives at a school dance with a water-damaged ticket and is denied entrance by Mr. Temple ([[John Ortiz]]) and Principal James ([[Alfre Woodard]]). Rock leaves and encounters some thugs, who lead him to vandalize Principal James's car. Pierre Dulaine, a classical dance instructor, catches Rock in the act, but Rock runs away before Pierre can question him further. |
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They have already shown that LaRhette takes care of her younger siblings and that her mother has at least one prostitution client. One night when her mother is late, the john hits on LaRhette and begins to get rough when she tries to kick him out. Her mother comes in and LaRhette runs out of the apartment and to the school, where she goes to the detention room and starts dancing. Rock hears music and sees her there. They start fighting and get busted for being in the school after hours. Rock calls Pierre, saying that is his father. Pierre takes him home for the night. |
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The next morning at the school, Pierre waits to see the principle as Mr. Temple discusses the detention program with Principal James. Pierre explains to the principal that he was a witness to the vandalism on her car, and eventually offers to take over Mr. Temple's detention shift, to which Principal James agrees, although she is sure that he will not last more than a day. |
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The next morning Principle James wants to suspend both LaRhette and Rock, but Pierre argues that is not what they need. She agrees to let him give them extra detention, so they meet with Pierre at 7 AM each day and have to dance together. They practice waltz and use a blindfold to practice trust. They start to bond, and have a lot in common. Both miss their brothers a lot, both brothers were involved in illegal activities so they could contribute money to the family, and both have a lot of responsibility now. Although he is no longer in the home, you see Rock going to his family’s door and slipping some money underneath. |
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Pierre is led to the basement where the students who have earned detention for the remainder of the year, including Rock, are kept. His first class is disastrous due to the uncooperative personalities of the students, all of whom scoff at his efforts to teach them classical dance. |
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Pierre gets another visitor at his apartment, Kurd, who is concerned because he is starting to be attracted to Big Girl, but cannot show it because it would not be considered cool to like her, and yet it is hard not to show it when they are always dancing so close. |
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The next morning Pierre returns, much to the surprise of Principal James who later explains that Rock’s brother was involved with a gang war, and one of the casualties was a brother of LaRhette, who had refused to dance with Rock the day before. Later in detention, Rock has forged a doctor’s note excusing him from dancing. |
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The detention basement gets flooded, so Pierre takes the group over to the dance studio while the repair crew dries it out. Everyone is having a great time until the evening class, including Morgan, comes in and some words are exchanged. As they see the moves of the more experienced students, and find out that the contest has a $200 entry fee, they feel like all their time has been wasted. |
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At Pierre's dance studio, Caitlin is a student who is under pressure to learn to dance because her [cotillion] is fast approaching. Pierre invites Morgan, a highly trained but haughty student, to his detention session for a demonstration of the tango, which inspires the detention students to be more willing to learn. Caitlin decides to join the detention students for dance class and practices with Monster, another student struggling to learn. |
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Pierre meets with Tina to go over the books, and they see that the school can fund the entrance fees for all the kids, though you know it will be leaving him broke. He says he is sure he wants to do it. He lets the kids know that the money is taken care of, but that they will really need to work hard as they have only started learning these dances compared to students who have been doing them for years. You see them practicing at home, on buses, sitting in other classes, and so on. They are also mixing Pierre’s old music with CDs of theirs that have similar beats, giving more energy to their dancing. One day Pierre comes out and his bike is back, a little pimped up. |
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Rock, who still refuses to dance, makes it clear to Pierre that he attends detention not to dance, but to be able to graduate. Later he is fired from his job for being late. He goes home and confronts his parents, who have been unable to provide him food since Rock's brother's death. His ailing father kicks him out of the house and he finds a new albeit dangerous job with some street thugs. |
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Tina comes over with costumes from the school and helps outfit the kids. Caitlin lets Pierre know that Tina likes him. Monster apparently likes Caitlin, and asks if she is going to the contest. She says she can’t, as she has the cotillion. Her mother has arranged for her cousin to escort her. Monster asks if she would like him to take her, but she doesn’t think anyone would accept it. She still asks if he will practice with her, and he does. LaRhette and Rock will compete in waltz together, and Ramos and Danjou both dance with Sasha as Pierre tells them to work it out. |
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LaRhette, whose mother is a [[prostitute]], cares for her younger siblings while her mother works. One night, LaRhette runs out of the apartment and to the school after one of her mother's clients assaults her. She practices her dancing in the basement, and runs into Rock. The fight and are caught by security. Principle James wants to suspend LaRhette and Rock, but instead agrees to give them extra detention hours with Pierre at 7 AM each day. Pierre tells the class about a dance competition which he wishes them to enter, and this is further inspiration for the detention students to learn. |
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In the meantime, Mr. Temple is complaining about the waste of resources on this program (this does not make sense, as they are basically getting free detention coverage). He has brought the parents association in for a meeting. Pierre does a brief demonstration with the Principal, and explains that dance teaches men to treat women respectfully, and women to demand respectful treatment, and it has a value there, and that everyone deserves some culture. The parents have no objection to the program continuing. |
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The detention basement is flooded, so Pierre takes the detention students to his dance studio to practice. They are confronted by Morgan and some of Pierre's other students. The detention students are further disenchanted by the skills of Pierre's students as well as the $200 entrance fee for the contest. However, Pierre manages to provide funds for the detention students to enter. |
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The night of the contest Rock has a job with Easy. He does go, but does not like that he is expected to shoot anyone who comes by. Easy asks if he is going to punk out, and without actually admitting pulling the triggers, says that is why Rock’s brother died. Rock shoots the sprinkler system and gets a quick beating while the others run away. |
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Caitlin is unable to enter in the competition, as her cotillion is the same night, to Monster's disappointment. The two still practice together. LaRhette and Rock will compete in waltz, and Ramos and Danjou learn to share Sasha during practice. |
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At the cotillion, Caitlin makes her grand entrance down the staircase, willing herself not to mess up. She stumbles towards the bottom, but Monster catches her arms and steadies her. Thrusting her bouquet at her cousin, Monster leads Caitlin to a graceful entrance that is well received, although her mother looks really confused. Monster then tells her, “We’ve got to bounce” and they run off to the contest. |
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Mr. Temple complains about the supposed waste of resources on the dance program. He brings Pierre to a meeting with the parents' association, but Pierre convinces them to keep the dance program going. |
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For each dance, everyone competing goes, and then certain couples are called back to dance and be scored. The $5000 prize will go to the individual with the highest scores. The detention kids get several call backs and seem to be having a good time, except for LaRhette who is heartbroken that Rock is not there and that she will not get to dance. Pierre tries to comfort her with no success. |
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One the night of the contest, Rock has to work. He is told that he must shoot anyone who approaches the theft operation. He shoots the sprinkler system instead, setting off the alarn and causing the thugs to run away. |
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Sasha and Danjou get called back for the tango with Morgan and her partner, but feel like they need something extra, so improvise a three person tango with Ramos. It is very impressive and sexy, but impossible to judge since the rules are based on couples. They get no points and Morgan gets perfect tens. She says they should call it a tie, and gives Sasha the trophy, saying she has never seen anyone move like that. Sasha replies, “I’m sure”. |
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At the cotillion, Caitlin makes her grand entrance down the staircase and dances with Monster, surprising her mother. After they dance they make their way to the dance competition. |
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Principal James has been watching and is thrilled. Pierre is happy too, but mentions that it was a lot of work. She says it will be even more, as they need to make the program permanent and expand it to more students and more schools. The final competition dance, the waltz, starts and LaRhette is still waiting for Rock. Rock bursts in, and Pierre gives him his tuxedo jacket. He comes to the Principal and admits he was the one who destroyed her car. She says not to spoil the evening; they are okay 'for now'. He and LaRhette dance and she feels wonderful, imagining that they are the only two there. At the end of the dance they kiss. |
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LaRhette is disappointed that Rock has not arrived at the competition, where a $5000 prize is at stake. Sasha, Danjou, and Ramos perform an impressive three-person tango but are disqualified for it. Surprisingly, Morgan calls it a tie and gives Sasha her trophy. |
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For the final dance Mickey takes over the sound system, putting on their music, and everybody dances. |
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Principal James, thrilled with the success of the program, insists on making the program permanent and expanding it to more schools. Rock arrives at the last minute to dance the waltz with LaRhette, whom he kisses at the end of the waltz. |
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The movie ends suddenly here with a note over the credits which explains that Pierre’s work led to a city wide ball room dance program for New York schools. |
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==Box office and reaction== |
==Box office and reaction== |
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Revision as of 20:56, 19 January 2007
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. |
| Take the Lead | |
|---|---|
| File:Taketheleadposter.gif Promotional poster for Take the Lead | |
| Directed by | Liz Friedlander |
| Written by | Dianne Houston |
| Produced by | Christopher Godsick Michelle Grace Diane Nabatoff |
| Starring | Antonio Banderas Rob Brown Yaya DaCosta Alfre Woodard Dante Basco Jenna Dewan Marcus T. Paulk Lauren Collins |
| Music by | Bonnie Greenberg Swizz Beatz |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release dates | April 7, 2006 |
Running time | 108 min. |
| Language | English |
Take the Lead is a movie starring Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco, Marcus T. Paulk, Jenna Dewan, and Lauren Collins. The film was released in mainstream cinema on April 7, 2006. The movie also features America's Next Top Model's third-season runner-up, Yaya DaCosta.
- Tagline: Never follow.
Plot
Rock, the film's underdog protagonist, arrives at a school dance with a water-damaged ticket and is denied entrance by Mr. Temple (John Ortiz) and Principal James (Alfre Woodard). Rock leaves and encounters some thugs, who lead him to vandalize Principal James's car. Pierre Dulaine, a classical dance instructor, catches Rock in the act, but Rock runs away before Pierre can question him further.
The next morning at the school, Pierre waits to see the principle as Mr. Temple discusses the detention program with Principal James. Pierre explains to the principal that he was a witness to the vandalism on her car, and eventually offers to take over Mr. Temple's detention shift, to which Principal James agrees, although she is sure that he will not last more than a day.
Pierre is led to the basement where the students who have earned detention for the remainder of the year, including Rock, are kept. His first class is disastrous due to the uncooperative personalities of the students, all of whom scoff at his efforts to teach them classical dance.
The next morning Pierre returns, much to the surprise of Principal James who later explains that Rock’s brother was involved with a gang war, and one of the casualties was a brother of LaRhette, who had refused to dance with Rock the day before. Later in detention, Rock has forged a doctor’s note excusing him from dancing.
At Pierre's dance studio, Caitlin is a student who is under pressure to learn to dance because her [cotillion] is fast approaching. Pierre invites Morgan, a highly trained but haughty student, to his detention session for a demonstration of the tango, which inspires the detention students to be more willing to learn. Caitlin decides to join the detention students for dance class and practices with Monster, another student struggling to learn.
Rock, who still refuses to dance, makes it clear to Pierre that he attends detention not to dance, but to be able to graduate. Later he is fired from his job for being late. He goes home and confronts his parents, who have been unable to provide him food since Rock's brother's death. His ailing father kicks him out of the house and he finds a new albeit dangerous job with some street thugs.
LaRhette, whose mother is a prostitute, cares for her younger siblings while her mother works. One night, LaRhette runs out of the apartment and to the school after one of her mother's clients assaults her. She practices her dancing in the basement, and runs into Rock. The fight and are caught by security. Principle James wants to suspend LaRhette and Rock, but instead agrees to give them extra detention hours with Pierre at 7 AM each day. Pierre tells the class about a dance competition which he wishes them to enter, and this is further inspiration for the detention students to learn.
The detention basement is flooded, so Pierre takes the detention students to his dance studio to practice. They are confronted by Morgan and some of Pierre's other students. The detention students are further disenchanted by the skills of Pierre's students as well as the $200 entrance fee for the contest. However, Pierre manages to provide funds for the detention students to enter.
Caitlin is unable to enter in the competition, as her cotillion is the same night, to Monster's disappointment. The two still practice together. LaRhette and Rock will compete in waltz, and Ramos and Danjou learn to share Sasha during practice.
Mr. Temple complains about the supposed waste of resources on the dance program. He brings Pierre to a meeting with the parents' association, but Pierre convinces them to keep the dance program going.
One the night of the contest, Rock has to work. He is told that he must shoot anyone who approaches the theft operation. He shoots the sprinkler system instead, setting off the alarn and causing the thugs to run away.
At the cotillion, Caitlin makes her grand entrance down the staircase and dances with Monster, surprising her mother. After they dance they make their way to the dance competition.
LaRhette is disappointed that Rock has not arrived at the competition, where a $5000 prize is at stake. Sasha, Danjou, and Ramos perform an impressive three-person tango but are disqualified for it. Surprisingly, Morgan calls it a tie and gives Sasha her trophy.
Principal James, thrilled with the success of the program, insists on making the program permanent and expanding it to more schools. Rock arrives at the last minute to dance the waltz with LaRhette, whom he kisses at the end of the waltz.
Box office and reaction
In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $12.8 million, ranking a strong third in the North American box office. Overall, it has grossed over $30 million in the United States box office,[1] even though many critics gave it poor reviews, citing bad acting and a formulaic plot. Lewis Segal of the Los Angeles Times panned it as "old uninspired Hollywood hustle"[2] while Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, ranking it "D+", called the student actors "one-note cartoons" and described the combination of dance styles as "naked desperation to fuse demographics" on the part of the producers.[3]
Soundtrack
- Label: Republic Records / Universal Records
- Original Release Date: April 4th, 2006 (U.S.A.)
Tracks
- "I Got Rhythm" (Take the Lead Remix) by Lena Horne – Additional vocals performed by Q-Tip
- "Take the Lead (Wanna Ride)" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Wisin & Yandel featuring Fatman Scoop & Melissa Jiménez
- "Feel It" by Black Eyed Peas
- "I Like That (Stop)" by Jae Millz
- "These Days" by Rhymefest
- "Here We Go" by Dirtbag
- "Whuteva" by Remy Ma
- "Ya Ya" (Al Stone Mix) by The Empty Heads
- "Never Gonna Get It" by Sean Biggs featuring Topic & Akon
- "I Like That You Can't Take That Away From Me" by Jae Millz, June Christy, Eric B. & Rakim & Mashonda
- "Fascination" by Kem
- Bonus Track: "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" by Sly & The Family Stone
The track played during the solo between characters Pierre Dulaine and Morgan was not included in the soundtrack, and was made specifically for the movie by Argentinian group Bailongo, called Asi se Baila el Tango.
Trivia
- Much of Take the Lead, including all of the exterior shots of the high school depicted in the film, was filmed in the University of Toronto Schools, a private school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- A large portion of the soundtrack was produced by Swizz Beatz.
- When the film was released in the Philippines, Dante Basco was named as a lead actor in movie posters, alongside Antonio Banderas.
References
- ^ "Boxofficemojo.com". Retrieved April 26.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Segal, Lewis (April 16, 2006). "Critic's Notebook". Los Angeles Times. p. E.34.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Gleiberman, Owen (April 14, 2006). "Missed Step". Entertainment Weekly. p. 61.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)