First| Previous| Up| Next| Last

Center Stage (2000)
Front Cover Actor
Amanda Schull Jody Sawyer
Zoe Saldana Eva Rodriguez
Susan May Pratt Maureen Cummings
Peter Gallagher Jonathan Reeves
Donna Murphy Juliette Simone
Debra Monk Nancy Cummings
Ethan Stiefel Cooper Nielson
Sascha Radetsky Charlie Sims
Julie Kent Kathleen Donahue
Ilia Kulik Sergei
Movie Details
Genre Drama; Music
Director Nicholas Hytner
Producer Caroline Baron; Laurence Mark
Writer Carol Heikkinen
Studio Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Language English
Audience Rating PG-13
Running Time 115 mins
Country USA
Color Color
IMDb Rating 6.2
Plot
The primary appeal of dance movies is the dancing, with some added emphasis on the romance the art expresses. Center Stage wins on these counts, despite its reveling in overly familiar characters and formula plotting. Or maybe this reveling is responsible for what goofy fun this film is. The arduous task of becoming a professional ballet dancer is incarnated by many good-looking teens, all stock dance-film characters affectionately portrayed mostly by newcomers. But center stage holds Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull), who may never be a great ballerina, but she's certainly one sexy jazz dancer. Then there's the arrogant genius (Ethan Stiefel), the dictatorial impresario (Peter Gallagher), the demanding instructor, the bulimic, the stage mother, etc. As we follow these characters, the message develops that one should let go and do what feels good. Jody may not be ballet material, but she scorches the stage when she's uninhibited. And that's really the fun of this movie, which is never seriously interested in ballet to begin with. One ludicrous scene depicts one of the dancers quitting because she realizes she never wanted to be a dancer to begin with but was pushed into it by her overbearing mother. She stands up to mom in the lobby of the auditorium where she's supposed to be performing, the music of her piece providing a syrupy backdrop to her little drama. When she's finished talking, she walks off to the audience's unwitting applause. The scene is so ham-handed you can't help but laugh at its audacity, if that's what it is. The rest of the film is not so overdone, but it's all fun. --Jim Gay
Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 46
Collection Status In Collection
Purchase Price 14,94 €
Links IMDB
Amazon Germany
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Edition Details
Edition Special Edition
Format DVD
Region 2
Screen Ratio 2.35:1
Barcode 043396052901
Release Date 25.01.2001
Subtitles Arabisch; Bulgarisch; Dänisch; Deutsch; Englisch; Finnisch; Griechisch; Hebräisch; Hindi; Isländisch; Niederländisch; Norwegisch; Polnisch; Schwedisch; Tschechisch; Türkisch; Ungarisch
Audio Tracks Deutsch Dolby Digital 5.1
Englisch Dolby Digital 5.1
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1