A revelation -- "Always be yourself."

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2001)

May contain spoilers --
A few days ago I wrote a comment about how much I liked this movie -- that I could not say enough about it. Today I realized why I like it so much.
There is a line in the movie -- "Always be yourself." -- attributed to Billy's late Mother. That's what the movie is about -- being yourself regardless of who anyone else thinks you should be, should not be, or wants you to be. For a good portion of the film, there is only one character that wants Billy to be himself (besides the late mother) and she reveals this early by saying "Please yourself, darlin'."
The movie is full of people that want Billy to be someone other than himself -- even his childhood best friend who thinks that the dancing is OK wants him to be someone he is not.
In the end (13 years after the main portion of the film) Billy is true to himself. His family and his childhood best friend (still there at the end) are all OK with that. That's what makes this film so special.