Fancy Dancing (2002)

Thirty year old Torontonian Asa Gemmill loves movie musicals of the 1930s and 1940s, especially little known Canadian movies starring Mar Stoddart, who he views as the Canadian Fred Astaire... See full summary »

Director:

Brock Simpson

Writer:

Brock Simpson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jason Priestley, Tanya Allen, Ewen Bremner

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Priestley	...	Asa Gemmill
Tanya Allen	...	Karen
Ewen Bremner	...	Bernard Schiff
Dave Thomas	...	Uncle Billy Gemmill
Dave Foley	...	Nat Porter
Deborah Odell	...	Charity
Connor Price	...	Michael Pelham
Jack Duffy	...	Stan
Joyce Campion	...	Peg
Dan Chameroy	...	Mar Stoddart
Stephanie Graham	...	Doreen Gaynor
Clinton Walker	...	Randall Keenan Forbes
Naomi Gaskin	...	Roxie Nightingale
Norma Edwards	...	Nana
Tracy Dawson	...	Funny Singer

Storyline

Thirty year old Torontonian Asa Gemmill loves movie musicals of the 1930s and 1940s, especially little known Canadian movies starring Mar Stoddart, who he views as the Canadian Fred Astaire, and his regular partner Doreen Gaynor, most specifically one called "Fancy Dancing". He is irresponsible in the way he lives his life - living in the seedy Winchester Hotel where Stoddart once performed and where they still play big band and jazz standards, rooming with a fellow Scot named Schiff who is only understandable with subtitles, sleeping during the day, and trying to bed all the hotel club's aspiring Doreen Gaynors at night - at least in the eyes of his ex-wife, Charity, who he still loves. Charity threatens to cut off his access to their infant son Michael unless he gets his act together. Through an intervention, Asa ends up going to work at his Uncle Billy's small advertising agency. Although the nine to five life isn't for him, which isn't helped working under the supervision of anal ...

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Plot Keywords:

musician | song | father son relationship | dancing | singing | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Au rythme de l'amour

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norstar Entertainment, Rafford Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min 91 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

It's Cute! It's not amazing.

Considering that most films are the very definition of hum-drum (which is especially true in the lackluster genre of romantic comedy), this is a less than spectacular movie that succeeds in being quirky enough to be endearing but it certainly suffers from uneven execution (predominantly in the structure of the story telling).

I think the cast was fun, however, with Jason Priestly surrounded by Dave Thomas, Dave Foley and Tanya Allen his performance feels flat; I didn't feel there was a lot of chemistry between him and any of the other characters. Dave Thomas was a classic clown, Tanya Allen was wonderfully charming but I have to say that a special treasure was Dave Foley's anxious and somewhat paranoid character. I would have loved more of him, and as is the case in so many movies, his talents are underused. It's worth a rental, though, to see the two Dave's in scenes together.

I am not Canadian and therefore feel like I may have enjoyed this more if I were. There is definitely some "culture poking" that takes place that I can appreciate if not relish in (i.e. the lead character being obsessed with "Canada's Fred Astair" and the Scottish vs. the English).

All in all it was a fun, Friday night rental that, while it didn't move me or make me laugh out loud, certainly caused me to smile throughout - a rare feat for a romantic comedy.