72
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonGrabbing 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.
- 89Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleMetaphorically 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.
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe movie is funny, energetic, and enjoyable -- the perfect film for a night or an afternoon out, regardless of what mood you're in. While the plot and characters don't boast any special depth, there's enough freshness to hold just about anyone's interest.
- 80EmpireEmpireFluff it may well be, but a more entertaining and engaging piece of fluff you'd be hard pushed to find.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWhat's best about the movie is the sense of madness and mania running just beneath its surface.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversLuhrmann is a director with the style and snap to have these tired routines on their feet and kicking like a line of Rockettes.
- 75The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayLuhrmann works aggressively for laughs early in the picture, playing up the gaudiness and piggishness of the old-guard dancers in camera angles as extreme and unflattering as a mid-'80s David Lee Roth video.
- 70The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinBaz Luhrmann's Australian film Strictly Ballroom is, in short, pure corn. But it's corn that has been overlaid with a buoyant veneer of spangles and marabou, and with a tireless sense of fun.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe dance-film equivalent of a female impersonator: The movie is absurd and sincere at the same time-it offers an insolent facsimile of grand passion.
- 20Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumA 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.