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SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS Send This Review to a Friend
When I saw Richard Alfieri’s play on which this film version is based, I thought it was dreadfully corny and flimsy and wrote accordingly. There is a sharp improvement in the film, directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman and scripted by Alfieri, and while it is still wispy, it benefits enormously from the performances of Gena Rowlands and Cheyenne Jackson, who give the story more life and warmth.
Rowlands, long one of my favorite American actresses and still magnetic at 84, plays the retired and lonely Lily Harrison who arranges to take dance lessons in her Florida condo apartment. Showing up as her teacher is Jackson as Michael Minetti. He is entertainingly brash, at times too much so to be believable, but while at first there is alienation and rejection by Lily, gradually a bond develops and Jackson proves to be as interesting on film as he has been on the New York stage.
As forced as the plot is, Rowlands and Minetti strike sparks, and each character gains something from the other. Michael is gay and needs acceptance and a purpose. Lily is needs an emotional lift. By befriending Michael she in return finds support for what she is faced with in her life.
The corn grows tall, but one can enjoy watching these expert actors interact and at times the result is touching. Rita Moreno has a small part as an annoying downstairs neighbor. There are some lively scenes at the dance studio that is Michael’s base, and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond contributes attractive takes on the Florida scenery. A DADFilm and Film Collective release. Reviewed December 12, 2014.
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