tek's rating:

The Company (PG-13)
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So... this is about the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. I'm not generally a big fan of ballet, though I do appreciate its artistry and all the hard work that goes into it. And I guess sometimes I can find it entertaining. Not that I've seen much of any real ballet in TV or movies, and certainly not live. But whatever... I wanted to see this mainly because Neve Campbell is in it. There are a couple other familiar faces, Malcolm McDowell and James Franco, but the majority of the cast are actual dancers, not actors. Everyone did a decent job of acting though, I guess. Not that there was much of a plot. The movie... almost feels like a documentary, but not really. I couldn't manage to care much about it at all, because of the lack of story and characters. We get to see a few performances, which are good, and we see bits and pieces of rehearsals, and even fewer bits and pieces of the dancers' personal lives, but not enough for me to feel like I ever got to know any of them at all. Except McDowell's character, the company's director, Alberto Antonelli, whom everyone calls "Mr. A." He... um... had very strong opinions, and complained a lot, but he also seemed to really know what he was talking about, so for the most part, the dancers accepted what he said. And he could also be vaguely kind, even if it wasn't always clear how sincere that kindness was. Whatever, he was a decent character.

Campbell played a dancer named Loretta Ryan, whom everyone calls "Ry." I guess at the start of the movie she had just broken up with one of the other dancers in the company, who had cheated on her. But we never really learn much about that. Later on, she meets a guy named Josh (played by Franco), and they start dating. And that's all I can really say about what passes for a plot. I will say I thought the movie's opening scene seemed... well-choreographed, but rather silly. Fortunately, I liked the other performances better. And the final performance was pretty weird, but fun, I guess. So... yeah, really the only reason to watch the movie is if you want to see some ballet. And the music was good. Oh, and there was one scene I found quite amusing- the Christmas roast. And I guess that's all I can tell you.


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