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Mad Hot Ballroom
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 24 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by: Amy Sewell
Directed by: Marilyn Agrelo
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 13, 2005
DVD: October 18, 2005
Running Time: 110 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for some thematic elements
An inspiring look inside the lives of New York City school kids on a journey into the world of ballroom dancing, an unexpected arena where they discover new frontiers about attitude, movement, style and commitment. (Paramount Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
A documentary experience to savor. Warm, funny and very difficult to resist, this engaging film combines the charm of "Spellbound" with the kinetic energy of "Strictly Ballroom" in a way that will make you want to laugh, cry and do a little dancing yourself, maybe all at the same time.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Isn't just heartwarming and inspiring, it's a remarkable look at a group of children whose most noteworthy trait is that they are ordinary.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
This winning documentary about fifth-graders who learn ballroom dancing is one of those movies that make the world a brighter place.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
These kids may be too small for sports and may not be headed to college on academic scholarships. But for once, they've proven to the world and to themselves that they matter.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
You nevertheless can't help but be swept up in the kids' enthusiasms and aspirations and gobs of energy.
Read Full Review >Empire Anna Smith
Cute, comical kids help make this ballroom dancing comp-romp a feelgood winner despite inexpert editing.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Melissa Levine
Wildly enjoyable look at the fifth-grade ballroom dance competition held annually in New York City.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
Resistance is futile. It's impossible not to be swept up into the uplifting world of Mad Hot Ballroom, a documentary that can be neatly summed up as the "Spellbound" of competitive ballroom dancing.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Don't miss an opportunity to see Mad Hot Ballroom, though. It will sweep you off your feet.
Boston Globe Ty Burr
Watching these pint-size Astaires and Rogerses practice the fox trot, tango, rumba, and swing is the immediate hook to Mad Hot Ballroom.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A testament to the discipline, humor, and life of kids who swing.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The documentary Mad Hot Ballroom is packed from start to finish with adorable kids doing cute things: Rarely has a movie, fictional or not, had this much awwwww factor.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
The considerable charm of Mad Hot Ballroom can be traced directly to its choice of subjects. They happen to be 11-year old kids, and the lens loves every precious one of them.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Listening to the kids talk is a treat in itself, but watching them strut their stuff in the final competition is enough to make you stand up and cheer.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
All along we've known that the contest was a metaphor for getting your act together BEFORE taking it on the road.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
Ms. Agrelo and Ms. Sewell deserve praise for discovering and illuminating this delightful corner of an educational system that is often portrayed in the grimmest terms, but their execution falls a bit short.
Read Full Review >Newsweek David Ansen
What Mad Hot Ballroom lacks in depth, it more than makesup for in charm and vibrancy.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Laura Sinagra
Like "Spellbound's" glimpse of the darker side of childhood competition, Mad Hot Ballroom--a look at New York City schools' fifth-grade ballroom dance program--is best when exploring issues of class and gender and definitions of success.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Some of the strongest scenes are candid front-stoop sessions in which the kids swap gossip and float some hilariously pre-sexual theories on romance.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
The worthy text of Mad Hot Ballroom is undercut by the real source of its energy, the heat of competition and the pure joy of winning.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's not the dance but the kids' passion, and the boisterous support of their friends and family in the audience, that makes the contest so entertaining.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
No great shakes as a documentary, but there are great shakes in the sight of 10- and 11-year-olds learning ballroom dancing in the New York City public school system.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
At heart this is a cuteness exploitation flick.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
In contrast to its great title, Mad Hot Ballroom is anything but: Let’s just say I was not spellbound.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 24 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Van B. gave it a3:
This footage might have made for a semi-interesting 1 hour program on PBS, or a 20-minute segment on 60 minutes, but as a full length movie, I found it rather boring (even for a documentary).
Jim G. gave it a7:
An enjoyable film evincing that giving children (and adults for that matter) chances to express themselves creatively through art (be it music, dance, visual arts, writing) gives them incredible opportunities for self esteem and growth.
Alan D. gave it an8:
I really enjoyed this movie. As a teacher looking for ways to get all sorts of adolescents to get involved in activities that are fun and build pride, commitment, hard work and mutual respect, this is an inspiring example.
marelena c. gave it a10:
This movie is my favorite of all time!!! the 10th time i saw it, i couldnt help but get up and do all of the moves myself! i wish i could meet all of the members of the indigo group. that would be my dream.
Joyce gave it a10:
I love this film! Saw it twice, dragged everyone I know to see it. I like arty movies, I like well-acted movies, I like movies that can make me cry or laugh or think. This one did all three, plus there were those tapping toes.
ellen c. gave it a9:
If you know anything about or like kids, dance, New York or music, you will love this movie. You don't need a map and compass to figure out the kids' backgrounds, just watch and listen to them spea and move. It's all there. It's a brilliant movie.
Mark B. gave it a7:
My father loves football, baseball and all manner of sports where the winners are determined by a hard numerical score, but you can't pay him to watch diving, figure skating or any other sport where the criteria are fuzzy and open to interpretation. Therefore, it's easy to guess that my dad would watch 2002's superb, Oscar-nominated spelling bee documentary Spellbound (where you either spell the word correctly, or you don't) 18 times before watching Mad Hot Ballroom (how do you judge ballroom dancing without esthetics and opinions taking over?) even once. And truth be told, Spellbound (without whose success MHB probably wouldn't have gotten distribution by anybody like Paramount) is a better documentary than MHB: it focuses on a handful of young contestants, giving the viewer more of a chance to get to know them and pick a favorite, while MHB, dealing with several New York City public schools in competition, gives us a lot more kids to watch but fewer to really bond with(although precocious, bespectacled little Tara really stole my heart, and has an unforgettable line relating to the subjectivity of the judging). While the final outcome of Spellbound is impossible to determine, MHB is more selectively and manipulatively put together to nudge the audience toward a more predictable, and somehow less satisfying, result. However, just because The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy aren't in the same league as Casablanca as far as dramas of intrigue are concerned doesn't mean that they aren't well worth watching in and of themselves, and MHB cleanly falls into the category of a "What's not to like?" movie. The inner-city 11-year-olds are smart, funny and endearing; what Miami Herald critic Rene Rodriguez referred to as the "awww factor" is pleasingly high without slipping into schmaltz; the kids' comments on love, sex, careers, life and rhumbas are often simultaneously innocent and perceptive; and the competing teachers and principals are every bit as likable as the kids! Like last year's Best Documentary Oscar winner Born Into Brothels, MHB makes a strong case for the arts being a major influence in keeping kids at a crossroads away from drugs, crime and other dangers--a message I hope comes across loud and clear to "No Child Left Behind" proponents (although somehow I doubt that it will). If that's not enough, if you despise the noxious sports-as-life philosophy and T-shirt slogan "second place is the first loser" as much as I do, MHB provides the PERFECT comeback response!
