Bootmen (2000)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Sorry I hate to be negative about my fellow country men - but really this is a fairly bad film. Did any one notice that the dead mother was a brunette at the being of the film - but a blonde in the closing flashback/montage? The script was weak - the acting flat and the character development non existent. Odd that a town like Newcastle should be such a hot bed of tap? Well Who am I to judge - I just hope that Dein Perry never gets to direct another film. On a positive note at least Sohpie Lee and Susie Porter had the good grace to look a tad embarrassed by the whole thing. Oh and the gay content at the end seemed just plain silly I think

The image that flashes through my mind when I hear the word " Aussies " is of a bunch of butch hard drinkers who enjoy nothing better than waking in a police cell after a drinking session followed by a bar room brawl .... and that`s just the women . According to my mate Dr Sebastian who spends a lot of time down under this is a laughably cliched stereotype and Australians are the nicest friendliest people on Earth . Mind you Seb is a six foot three Scotsman so everyone`s nice to him .You can see what I`m getting at about stereotypes though ? because strangely BOOTMEN does feature the type of Aussies who take a drink and commit crimes and enjoy the sound of knuckle against cheekbone . Even stranger despite the mythical portrayal of Australians in this movie no one really gives the main protagonist Sean a hard time for wanting to become a dancer even though he works at a steel mill . A worker at an Australian steel mill wants to become a dancer and no one accuses him of being " A bloody wooftah " , now that takes some swallowing and I guess that`s why some people dislike BOOTMEN , it is slightly obvious that the story was written around the dance sequences but it could have been far worse , it could have been a plagaristic cross between THE FULL MONTY and BILLY ELLIOT or a camp Baz Luhrmann type production but at least BOOTMEN has an identity all of its own . BOOTMEN is a simple story of people trying to pursue their dreams , it`s funny , romantic , sometimes gritty and foul mouthed , sometimes violent but always entertaining with an absolutely brilliant dance sequence at the end and is by far the greatest Australian film since ROMPER STOMPER.If you`ve ever seen the dance troupe Stomp or these idents on BBC1 featuring the dancers and thought " Hmm that lifts the spirits " then you`ll enjoy this movie . I know I certainly did

"No son of mine is going to tap dance for a living!" "When I tap, I feel I can do anything!" "You're mad! MAD! People just don't TAP that way!" "But don't you SEE? Tapping isn't just about steel-tipped shoes, it's about LIFE!" "This is our chance to DO something! This is our chance to make a difference!" "I love you!" "I love you, too!" "People just aren't ready for your kind of tap!" "I don't care! I'll show them. I'll show them all!"Okay, so I'm making these lines up. (It's amazing how quickly they come to you, once you let them.) But if these particular lines don't appear in "Bootmen", I suspect it's due to an oversight. They might as well. And I remember an "I love you" line, which, in context - there's nothing wrong with the three words per se - may well be the most embarrassing thing Sophie Lee has ever been called upon to say.Wanna hear a rich irony? Sean tries out his first-draft choreography on his performers, and one of them says (and I paraphrase), "Look - I know why this isn't working. It's just a collection of the same old tap routines that have been done a thousand times before. We're doing them funny hats, that's all." Sean sees the light and comes up with something NEW. He uses the SOUL of the steelworks to come up with a fresh, vibrant, STEELY kind of tap... I don't know why I'm being sarcastic; this is exactly what he should be doing. The irony is that "Bootmen" is exactly the same kind of let's-put-on-a-show movie that's been done a thousand times before. It's just a new kind of show. Granted, working class tap dancing may be fresh - although we aren't allowed to get a sense of its freshness - but none of this freshness or vigour seems to have infected the rest of the film.About that comment (I'm not sure whether or not it's an actual line from the film) - "It's been done a thousand times before"... this is never a fair criticism by itself, any more than "It will be done a thousand times in the future" is. The trouble with "Bootmen" is that it's stale, in the way that some bread is stale. You don't have to research the history of a stale loaf of bread to tell that there's something wrong with it; nor do you have to look at other loaves of bread. The badness of stale bread is intrinsic to the loaf. If "Bootmen" had been the only let's-put-on-a-show film ever made, it would STILL be stale. Every bit as stale. (Or, to look at it from another angle, if "The Full Monty" and "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Singin' in the Rain" and "Topsy-Turvy" had each had a dozen almost indistinguishable clones, they would still be every bit as fresh. But, alas, I was talking about "Bootmen"...)Here's all you need to know... Every second of screen time falls into one of three categories: (1) the dance routines themselves, which are there for their own sake; (2) the backstage preparation; (3) all that personal relationships stuff, and my, isn't there a lot of it. -Actually, I need to subdivide (1) - there's (1a), the few minutes of actual performed dance at the end, and (1b), the impromptu dance routines that people break into at such naturalistic prompts as, "Show us what ya got". Now here's the rundown. (1b) is fun. (1a) less so. (2) is poorly done, but not actually painful. But as for (3) ... boy, do we have to cringe our way through (3).

When this movie focuses on the dancing, it is amazing and joyful. Unfortunately, far too much time is spent on the extremely pedestrian story of underdog dancers, star-crossed love lives and gang fights.While the story was trite, the acting and the dancing were superb. Both main male leads do a terrific job, with Adam Garcia (previous film: Coyote Ugly) an absolute standout as the guy with the dream that he makes come true despite the odds.I'm glad I didn't pay full price, but for a matinee price - you can ignore the story and concentrate on the dance numbers. Those *are* worth the price of admission.