2007 Directed by Darren Ashton
Razzle Dazzle follows the eager members of "Mr. Jonathon's Dance Academy" who, with their unique dance routines, compete for Grand Final success at Australia's most prestigious competition. Amidst parental politics, petty rivalry, creative controversy and the hysterics of pushy stage mothers, the film takes you behind the glamor and the glitter to a world where, sometimes, winning is everything!
Ben Miller Kerry Armstrong Shayni Notelovitz Denise Roberts Sheridan Rynne Kerry-Ann Thoo Anastasia Bertinshaw Lauren Elton Taylor Anthony Veronica Koprivnjak Becky Mamo Samantha Hagen Shayarne Matheson Ivy Negre Caitlin Rawnsley Clancy Ryan Sallyanne Ryan Carolyn Wilson Steve Le Marquand Tara Morice Jane Hall Briden Starr Ashleigh Cummings Keiynan Lonsdale Isabel Durant Roy Billing Robin Ince Nadine Garner Toni Lamond Show All…
Dancing Queens, Razzle Dazzle
USA
New York International Children's Film Festival
Ireland
UK
AustraliaPG
New ZealandPG
FranceU
Australia
France
Ireland
New Zealand
UK
USA
"There's no reason why a routine about the oppression of women in Afghanistan can't have a little bit of glamour."
Judging from its Letterboxd views I'm almost certain that none of you (besides Ella) have seen or heard of this film. I'm not even sure that many of you would enjoy it. When Razzle Dazzle was released, I watched it so many times in cinemas and on DVD that, until last week, I hadn't seen it in about five years. I completely wore it out.
So, imagine my delight when upon a rewatch, I fell in love with it all over again.
Razzle Dazzle is an exemplar of the mockumentary. It's a caricature with liberal amounts of truth thrown in.…
"You've got to think about the children. We're preparing them for a life in the theatre, and the theatre's all about bitter disappointment, failure and derision, and Mr Jonathan knows all about that."
As my sister (lonelytourist) on here said when we were watching this, "no one does a mockmentary better than Australians", and I agree.
After watching this obsessively when it first came out when I was quite young, it grew a bit tired and I didn't watch it for a really long time until today, where once again I was able to appreciate how amazing it is. It's so well written, and played perfectly by the entire cast who never put a foot wrong in pretending that is…
An Aussie mocumentary, Razzle Dazzle walked so summer heights high could run.
Mr Johnson is a triple threat with a heart as he leads a dance group of girls with some unorthodox choreography aimed at changing the world.
Loved the confronting accuracy of the Australian dance scene; chaos backstage and dazzle up front. Featuring some iconic faces like Leo Sayer and Barry Crocker, this was not a shocker but a pleasant flick that could shape one’s childhood.
Not bad
‘There’s no reason why a routine about the oppression in Afghanistan can’t have any glamour.’
"Would Catherine Zeta-Jones have won an Oscar if she was scabby or bruised or had her teeth kicked out by her best friend on a trampoline?! No!!"
You've got a dance instructor who loves high-concept art. Art with meaning. If that's means a bunch of girls (and a boy!) have to leap and pirouette about child labor, cancer, and the repression of women in Afhganistan, then so be it! It's hard to watch a mockumentary and not compare it to one of Christopher Guest's, but Razzle Dazzle has the absurdity and wry wit to do it. Unfortunately, the comedy just isn't very strong. The cast seem more than capable so I think the script (or improv) just didn't take this to the level it needed.
Pride Month watch 42/60
MARGARET: ★★★½
DAVID: ★★★
Review by Margaret Pomeranz
It seems that mockumentaries are leaping to the forefront of the Australian film industry. No sooner does KENNY sweep most of us away than along comes RAZZLE DAZZLE about a dance competition and the people who yearn to win it.
Mr. Jonathan, (BEN MILLER), runs a dance Academy. He’s always missed out on the big prize, possibly his unorthodox approach to dance is the reason. KERRY ARMSTRONG plays an obsessive, competitive stage mother, with NADINE GARNER as the mother of a talented newcomer.
Director Darren Ashton, who co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Carolyn Wilson and with Robin Ince of The Office fame, underplays the comedy effectively, very much in the manner…
Aussie's really excel in taking the piss out of people, don't they? This is a funny satire of dance schools and owes a lot to Chris Lilley's Mr G, but for the life of me I can never stay attentive for feature length mockumentaries.
Australian mockumentary starring Ben Miller and Jane Hall as the heads of two rival dance troupes who go head-to-head in the annual Sanosafe Troupe Spectacular.
The words "Australian", "mockumentary", "dance troupe" and "Ben Miller" should tell you everything you need to know about "Razzle Dazzle" and I mean that in a good way. Miller plays Mr Jonathan, leader of the Jazzketeers dance troupe, whose controversial, politically motivated dance routines (e.g. the Kyoto Protocol Shuffle) have often stood in the way of his success at dance competitions, especially now that there's competition from the rigidly traditional school run by Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall). As the annual Sanosafe Troupe Spectacular approaches, Mr Jonathan is counting on his routine about oppressed Afghanistan women…
