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Australia 2007
Directed by
Darren Ashton
92 minutes
Rated PG

Reviewed by
Sharon Hurst
3 stars

Razzle Dazzle

Synopsis: Mr Jonathon’ Jazzketeers go toe-to-toe with Ms Elizabeth’s troupe in the Sanosafe dance competition for school-age dance students.

Written by director Ashton with his wife, Carolyn Wilson, and British writer, Robin Ince, Razzle Dazzle is an affectionately satirical comedy that offers enough to please. Made in the mockumentary style, the film purportedly tracks the efforts of out-there dance teacher, Mr Jonathon (Ben Miller), to win the coveted Sanosafe Grand Final, alternating to-camera interviews of the principal characters with fly-on-the-wall scenes of his preparations and those of his arch-rival, the five times winner of the competition, the obsessive-compulsive Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall), in preparation for the big day. The narrative format is straight-forward with clearly demarcated steps to the predictable pay-off (although with a nicely caught stumble toward the end) but as the subject-matter is so inherently spoof-worthy the creative team, if anything, must have had to avoid playing for easy laughs.

According to the director, the films of Christopher Guest were his stylistic reference point but the most evident influence is that of Ricky Gervais. This is not surprising as co-writer Robin Ince has written for Gervais, but not only is the script’s ironically deadpan humour very much in the latter’s manner but British actor Ben Miller (who recently starred in The Worst Week Of My Life on ABCTV) emulates the tics of Gervais’s small screen persona. Whilst this often produces amusing results one cannot help but wish the film was less obviously influenced in this respect as it detracts from the observational mode which is the film’s main comedic strength and at times makes it feel overly contrived. 

Budgetary restrictions often impact negatively on Australian films and this is particularly evident in a film in whose title and publicity somewhat misleading promise glitz a-plenty. As much as the creative team have done an excellent job cutting the costumes to fit their cloth and the documentary style works well to hide the film’s rough edges, one cannot help but wish that more had been done with such rich material, particularly in the area of choreography (Miss Elizabeth’s troupe is given but the most cursory attention) and the attendant cinematographic opportunities.

Where Razzle Dazzle does make its mark is in characterization and performance and in this respect it is a big advance over Ashton’s previous, and first, feature, Thunderstruck (2004) Despite being about a children’s dance competition Razzle Dazzle, with the exception of Shani Notelovitz who plays Tenille (and does it well), is about the adults who for one reason or another inhabit this strange universe of competitive dance.  From Kerry Armstrong’s fright of a stage mother to Denise Roberts’ shell-suited PA to Steve Le Marquand’s self-effacing role as the (presumably) single Dad, all the performances are irresistible. Then there are veterans of the Australian live entertainment circuit of yesteryear like Barry Crocker, Toni Lamond and Noeline Brown, not to mention the nod to the sublime Strictly Ballroom (1992) in Tara Morice’s silent Goth costumier (the scene with her singing Spandau Ballet’s 'Gold' is indeed a beautiful thing) and a guest appearance by Paul Mercurio. Wrap it all in Ariane Weiss’s costumes and Troy Follington’s hair and make-up and the result is a lot of fun.

 

 

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