There's a segment of the moviegoing public some theater managers refer to as the Ohmigods. They're young women between the ages of 11 and 15 -- that pre-dating period -- who flock to the cineplexes every Friday night or Saturday afternoon to see the latest Freddie Prinze Jr. or Joshua Jackson film and to discuss their peers. Their comments often sound something like this: "Ohmigod, she is getting so fat!"; "Ohmigod, he looks just like Josh Hartnett!"; "Ohmigod, 'Oops, I Did It Again' is, like, the best song ever!"
The Ohmigods will love "Center Stage," which was clearly designed with them in mind. It has lots of graceful and sometimes teasingly erotic dancing, a variety of attractive youthful stars, and a plot that can be easily followed, even if you spend long stretches of the movie talking to your best friend about how hot Brandon looked in geometry class or how Trina totally embarrassed herself at the party last week.
Screenwriter Carol Heikkinen apparently spent more time studying "42nd Street" and "Gold Diggers of 1933" than she did researching what aspiring ballet dancers actually go through in their struggle to get into the spotlight. So "Center Stage" shamelessly hauls out every trick in the dusty old musical comedy book, from the scolding stage mother who pushes her daughter onto the boards to the chorus girl who miraculously gets to play the lead when the star drops out at the last minute.
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Bright-eyed Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull) lands a slot at the American Ballet Academy, alongside "everyone who matters in American ballet." Heck, one of her fellow students even gave up the promise of a job at Hooters to go to ABA, so you know it must be something special.
Jody's classmates include Eva (Zoe Saldana), the requisite smart-mouth who violates the dress code and hides her bruised heart; Maureen (Susan May Pratt), who's hailed by everyone as the Next Big Thing; Sergei (Ilia Kulik), the Russian who loves to party; and Charlie (Sascha Radetsky), the nice guy from Seattle who's too shy to tell Jody he's in love with her. So Jody eventually drifts into the arms of vain Cooper Nielsen (Ethan Stiefel), who changes partners as often as he changes leotards.
Does Jody have enormous difficulty fitting in? Does one kid turn out to be bulimic? Does a character tell another, "whatever you feel, just dance it"? Does someone proclaim, "I'm not dancing for them anymore -- I'm dancing for myself"?
You need not see "Center Stage" to correctly guess the answers to those questions.
Most of the cast run into problems convincingly reading their dialogue, but that's not much of a drawback since director Nicholas Hytner routinely stops the story for lengthy, smoothly executed dance sequences that will make any aspiring ballerinas in the audience want to take some extra lessons.
While it's hardly revolutionary, Susan Stroman's choreography is the driving force behind the film, and the main reason to sit through it. Every time the movie threatens to put us to sleep, Stroman throws in a revitalizing scene, such as the Broadway dance class workout underscored by Mandy Moore's bubblegum-pop treasure "Candy" and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' pulse-pounding "Higher Ground."
"Center Stage" wraps up with a supremely weird rock ballet/pantomime that sets the story of "The Red Shoes" first to the dreary music of Michael Jackson, then to the dynamic sounds of Jamiroquoi. It's supposed to be part of a big stage show, although the spectacle includes so many sets and split-second costume changes it could only happen in the movies. The number somehow manages to get a standing ovation from an audience of tough critics. "Center Stage" itself isn't likely to get quite the same response. James Sanford
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