Did I mention that I love movies featuring dancers? Cuz I do. Even though I have all the rhythm of a spastic tortoise, nothing stops me from enjoying the way these people can command their muscles to do their bidding. That's a kind of magic I do not possess.By day, Alex (Jennifer Beals) is a welder in a Pittsburgh factory. But at night, she indulges her passion for dancing at the local bar. She wants to be a repertory dancer, a legitimate ballerina, but lacks the formal training. Her mentor, Hannah (Lilia Skala), urges her to apply for an audition anyway. Alex must balance her love of dance against the fear of failure, especially as she and her friends are targeted by local flesh peddler, Johnny C. (Lee Ving), always looking for fresh meat to work in his disreputable nude bar.
Jennifer Beals is iconic in this and for good reason. She nails that fresh faced yet street wise dancer persona. What she cannot do is actually dance. All of the major dancing is done by a professional. When I first watched this as a kid, I never noticed but in the age of digitally superimposing an actress's face on top of a dancer's body, the tricks used back in the 80's stick out like two left feet. I'm sure they did their absolute best and I hope that doesn't ruin the movie for anyone but it's something I couldn't ignore once it was pointed out to me.
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