A Time for Dancing (2002)

Their love of dance, and their friendship, is challenged for two high school girls when one is diagnosed with cancer.

Director:

Peter Gilbert

Writers:

Davida Wills Hurwin (book), Kara Lindstrom (screenplay)

Stars:

Larisa Oleynik, Shiri Appleby, Peter Coyote

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Larisa Oleynik	...	Jules
Shiri Appleby	...	Sam
Peter Coyote	...	Wynn
Patricia Kalember	...	Sandra
Scott Vickaryous	...	Eli
Shane West	...	Paul
Lynn Whitfield	...	Linda
Amy Madigan	...	Jackie
Anton Yelchin	...	Jackson
Jennifer Hamilton	...	Colleen
Barbara Eve Harris	...	Dr. Conner
Honey Sanders	...	Juilliard Administrator
Vicki Davis	...	Juilliard Check in Girl
Ayesha Orange	...	Sarah / Company Dancers (Adults)
Nikki Tuazon	...	Nadia / Company Dancers (Adults) (as Nikki Tauazon)

Storyline

Their love of dance, and their friendship, is challenged for two high school girls when one is diagnosed with cancer.

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Plot Keywords:

school | friendship | dance | cancer | therapy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language and a scene of sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

Lexington Road Productions

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 2002 (Italy)

Also Known As:

A Time for Dancing - Ihr einziges Ziel: Leben um zu tanzen

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

East of Doheny

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[quietly]
Juliana 'Jules' Michaels: Crying doesn't help me Mommy.

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Connections

Featured in Speciale Casting (2002)

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Soundtracks

Sunshine
Written by Ashlee Beedle, Marc Wolford and Alison David
Performed by Alison David and The Black Science Orchestra
Courtesy of Afro Arts Entertainment

User Reviews

I wanted to love this movie but I can't even like it

Okay I sat down and watched this movie because... I want to see if Larisa Oleynik can do drama. Now with a premise like this it was almost a stamp on guarantee that I was going to like this movie. The amount of angles that they can go with this story and make it into something immensely enjoyable is amazing. Turns out I didn't like it.

Okay so the story, Jules and Sam are both dancers that have danced since they were 6 years old. Sam loves to dance but Jules is obsessed with it and it's her lifelong dream to do it professionally. That comes to a screeching halt when what she thought were hip pains turns out to be a form of cancer and it basically chronicles how Jules, Sam and their families live with this.

The biggest complaint in the sense that because this was taken out the whole thing falls apart is that these characters almost have the personality of dishwater. I mean with our 2 leads for example aside from them liking dance and having each other as best friends, what do you know about them? The answer is "almost nothing" because if they did elaborate on other personality traits then they didn't make this very clear. I could go on and on with how much this ruins the film completely.

With all this said the actors all do decent jobs. I mean I know they're trying very hard to do this and it really shows. I think the best performance is Oleynik as Jules as she is conflicted with being unable to fulfil her dream for being a professional dancer. I mean they almost carry the movie.

With this said I thought this movie relied on a lot of Dance choreography than anything else. Half the time they put dance sequences in places that don't make sense. I mean if it is supposed to convey some kind of symbolic meaning then the symbolism is very poorly put across.

So I guess if you like any of these actors then this movie will be worth some kind of viewing. I mean the acting from most of the players is pretty good but the characters are bland cardboard cut-outs. The amount of ways this story could have been tackled, even if they gave the characters more personality could have connected me to the characters a lot more that when the ending comes along that I would be sad at it. So If you're a fan of these actors then watch it, If you aren't then this movie won't work.