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Strictly Ballroom
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Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice
  • Summary: Strictly Ballroom is the magical story of a championship ballroom dancer who's breaking all the rules, and his ugly duckling dancing partner. (BV Entertainment)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    90
    Grabbing every backstage musical cliche by the lapels, it sends each one pirouetting, then sprawling hysterically across the floor. It's hard not to love this kind of tribute.
  2. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Staff(Not credited)
    89
    Metaphorically speaking, Strictly Ballroom celebrates individuality over homogeneity; for all its melodramatic flourishes and grotesque exaggerations, it never mocks the hero's dream of self-expression.
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    20
    A festival favorite in 1992, this flamboyant Australian crowd pleaser and first feature by Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge") struck me then as one of the more horrific and unpleasant movies I'd seen in quite some time.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 1 out of 2
  1. AndrewN.
    10
    "Are we gonna do that Bogo-Pogo?!" "What did you think of the way I danced on the weekend?" "I dunno, you didn't win did ya." "Yeah but what did you think of it?" "I dunno. Now are we gonna do that Bogo-Pogo?!" "I'm asking what you thought of the way I danced on the weekend?!" "I told you, I don't know!!" "Jesus Wayne!"… Expand
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  2. [Anonymous]
    3
    Romantic comedic pseudo docudrama which is too silly to be dramatic and too leaden to be funny. It engages every clice of the romance genre with aplomb - so much so that it could almost be mistaken for satire. However, it is ironic that the entire plot is predicated on the protagonist disengaging from standard ballroom technique and creating original moves, whilst the movie itself plods along in a predictable two dimensional style.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes