Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School
Metascore
40 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 20
  3. Negative: 5 out of 20
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  1. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Sarah Kaufman
    70
    This film does other power-of-dance movies one better by downplaying the dancing and underscoring what its brethren often lack: a compelling, wrenching and wonderfully inspiring story.
  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    67
    As absorbingly weird and dark and sad as the film becomes, it still labors against jumpy construction, an irritating variety of visual styles and film stocks, and a crowded story that no one gets much individual screen time, which means that redemption for everyone comes far too quickly and neatly.
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    63
    Expanded by writer-director Randall Miller from a nostalgic half-hour short he made while a student at AFI, this well-intentioned film about loss, grief and new beginnings gets bogged down in syrupy cliches and blunt self-help dialogue.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: James Greenberg
    50
    The film is an elegiac journey to a sweeter, more civilized place in the heart. Predictable and decidedly old-fashioned in its sensibility, the film is likely to win over audiences if not critics.
  5. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    The adults at the Hotchkiss reunion are played by an assortment of splendid actors.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Sid Smith
    50
    Too cute, too transparent, too precious and ultimately too much.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    50
    The movie delivers the promised ballroom action, but not the charm. And if you think the title is endless, wait till you see Goodman's death scene.
  8. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    Overall it's got two left feet - and charm is in dangerously short supply.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    50
    The story is corny and predictable, but Carlyle's subtle, nuanced performance saves the movie from drowning in sentimentality.
  10. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    I wish I could say there is something pleasurable in watching John Goodman reminisce about the good old days while impaled on a steering wheel in the Volvo he's crashed on a California freeway, but I can't find what it is.
  11. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    Really, about all that unifies the movie is its inclination to turn little people's dreams into limply ''affectionate'' camp.
  12. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Bill White
    42
    Three movies gasp for life inside the clumsily titled Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School.
  13. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Toddy Burton
    40
    Several steps shy of a satisfying lesson.
  14. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Jeannette Catsoulis
    40
    Despite a gloriously baroque performance from Mr. Wahlberg - attempting moves certified only for Antonio Banderas - Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School remains irredeemably soggy.
  15. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    40
    This has its moments, but most of these are engulfed by the overall murk.
  16. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    38
    Amounts to Chicken Soup for the Soul-style torture -- unless you like that kind of thing.
  17. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Robert Abele
    30
    It's all a treacly, shoddily assembled, underwritten mess.
  18. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Rob Nelson
    30
    This flat-footed male weepie musters an insurance ad's worth of clichés about the importance of busting a move in middle age-and it strains so hard to do so that it's almost perversely compelling.
  19. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    25
    An attempt at a beautiful film about renewal -- about past love, love lost, longing and rediscovery -- but it has no emotional truth.
  20. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    20
    Juggles three separate time periods -- and is completely formulaic in each one.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. GrahamB.
    10
    I don't know what anyone is talking about, this film is one of the best I've seen recently.
  2. RichardC.
    8
    Perhaps not an artistic triumph, still, a charming film containing many lessons on life, especially how some people can learn to overcome disappointments, but also how others will carry their unrealistic dreams to the grave.… Full Review »
  3. AnthonyY.
    3
    The visuals were ugly, the music often inappropriate and sentimental, the script predictable. How the director assembled such a strong cast for such a weak production is a mystery.… Full Review »
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