He loves to dance--but he's no 'poof'!

Rating: 6/10 (2 March 2002)

Contrived, somewhat negligent, but entertaining film about young British boy from a tough working-class environment who wants to be a ballet dancer. And can you blame him? All around are swearing, spitting adults and riot police! In its more subtle moments, the film touches on a certain childhood rebellion that can be seen in shades of anger and joy; however, it is so determined to be a cookie-cutter product (with artistic flourishes) that the audience almost gets impatient waiting for the inevitable triumphs. Despite the formula, there are some very fine performances and nice directorial touches, although the rock-and-roll dancing montage (to T. Rex?!) is too much like an MTV interlude for such a prestigious production and sticks out like the commercial device it is. **1/2 from ****