Dance With Me (1998): Dir: Randa Haines / Cast: Vanessa Williams, Chayanne, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Plowright, Jane Krakowski: Misfire film about engagement of personalities. It is an inner request by the film's heroine in her need for companionship. Chayanne is from Cuba and he travels to Texas to accept a job at a dance club and meet his father. Kris Kristofferson fills that role and helps him get settled in. He meets a fascinating dancer but the father of her daughter is a successful dancer too. Directed by Randa Haines who previously made Children of a Lesser God and again creates relationships through expression and talent. Vanessa Williams is an engaging actress despite the predictable storytelling. She is a festive dancer and pulls of all the stops with her dance partner. Chayanne delivers the best performance as someone seeking opportunity and discovers romance and a reuniting with his father. However, it isn't difficult to predict where this is all heading. Kristofferson as Chayanne's father is standard, and Joan Plowright is subdued with a useless cardboard role. Jane Krakowski plays one of the one dimensional dancers. The dancing is graceful and certainly presents a positive distraction from the flimsy writing. With that said, the film's theme seems to work as an expression through artistic talent. It is about the love of dancing not the nature of it. Score: 5 / 10
Review of Dance with Me
