I have to hold back a star because Luhrmann's MOULIN ROUGE! is such a masterpiece that there had to be some room for ratings movement.I hadn't watched S-B for several years, and I have to say that having just watched it again, its stature has only improved with age, and frankly it's impossible I think for anyone not to love the film. If there's a problem it's that Luhrmann hadn't yet mastered the art of taking care when his actors can go over the top (the mother, the judges, the other dancers, in particular) and said acting is about twenty degrees too far over the top. There are also some odd skips in the screenplay especially towards the end, but I'm nitpicking.That said, the main focus of Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice is where the heart and soul of the film lies (and where the h&s of all three of Luhrman's Red Curtain Trilogy lies), namely, truth, beauty, freedom, and love, and Mercurio and Morice deliver it all with perfection. Sequence after sequence between the two of them, with the gorgeous camerawork ever moving in circles, which have more passion and romance in them than even other films widely considered the "masterpieces." Scarlett and Rhett who? Mercurio is simply a dazzling dancer (not to mention having a face and body to match), with Morice a wonderful partner to him. The "Time After Time" montage comes close to matching Astaire and Charisse in their "Dancing in the Dark" BANDWAGON sequence, the paso doble "teaching" sequence is filled with amazing dancing and heart to match it, and the final showdown sequence is breathtakingly on target. I never got why Dirty Dancing has such a fuss over it, when Strictly Ballroom is the real deal.

Calling this film a feelgood romantic comedy sounds like an insult, but it truly does the dance and romance genres justice while still managing affectionate, wry silliness. Its a Baz Luhrmann movie so its visuals are effortlessly pretty and rich with detail, even when he is gently mocking the sea of dancing rainbow feather dresses. The plot moves at a fast clip but not at the same RPMs like Luhrmann's bigger productions, Moulin Rouge and the music video equivalent of Romeo and Juliet. And as a fan of crass, lowbrow content, the wholesome heart of this movie is never lost on me. Aside from ogling, coitus interruptus, and gosh, some swearing, this movie is safe and probably a better influence on your kid sister than most of the romantic movies produced in the last decade. It's a fun movie, and if you watch movies you know that's a rare, rare fruit.