As Steven Soderbergh said in a recent interview, a genre film is a great way to put social messages into a film without being so obvious. This film is pretty obvious with its social messages. It is about like dumping a tablespoon of catsup into an omelette. Some of the dance numbers are pretty good, some are derivative. Gregory Hines' angry prison cell tap is transported into an angry outhouse dance number in England.
Hines does it better.
Bell is also a fine actor, backed up by a solid cast. Lewis is great as the deeply conflicted father, who, despite appearances to the contrary, is willing to make almost any sacrifice to help his son. Wells is enchanting as Billy's delicate best friend. Walters does a wonderful job of showing us a woman with a tough exterior, but who has a generous heart. The cast all does a good job of showing how people, despite their prejudices and suspicions, often manage to do the right thing in the end.