Based on a true story, “Take the Lead” is “Mad Hot Ballroom” gone mainstream. Antonio Banderas plays Pierre Dulaine, a professional ballroom dancer and teacher who, after witnessing a student vandalize his principal’s (Alfre Woodard) car, decides he wants to help the delinquent students at a Harlem school by teaching them to dance. Woodard’s character is only too glad to use Dulaine as her detention monitor, although she lacks confidence in his unconventional teaching methods.

Jill Blackledge: My first impressions were that the story of “Take the Lead,” although true, wasn’t a new one, especially to the movies. It followed the formula of “Mr. Holland’s Opus” and “Music of the Heart,” to name just a couple. You knew going in that the teacher, despite all odds, would overcome the obstacles and succeed to make something out of these students, whether it be teaching them how to play a musical instrument, taking them to Carnegie Hall or teaching them ballroom dance.

Andrew Schmeisser: As dazzling as the movie was, I felt certain that I’d seen this story before. It was just another copy of other movies, such as “Save the Last Dance,” “Center Stage” and many more, each culminating in the competition of the underdog. The clash of the cultures, in regards to dance, hasn’t been a new idea for a very long time, even if it’s based on a true story.

JB: I thought the movie took an awfully rosy picture of urban schools. Granted, it focused realistically on the struggle for school funds between honors students and those who need some help in school, but it’s just so positive. Yes, it was based on a true story, and yes, dance did help these students. I’m sure this is a very effective program in some schools, but it’s not believable that every detention student reforms simply because he or she learns how to foxtrot.

AS: I thought the film’s presentation was pretty good, though simplistic and obvious in the manner in which it separated the two classes of dancers in the film. The transitions from one class to the other were almost seamless but, again, were very obvious and clear.

JB: The acting was fair enough. Banderas and Woodard executed their roles efficiently, but nothing special. Banderas was his usual suave self as he stepped in as the school’s hero-of-the-moment. Woodard is the unbelieving hard-boiled principal, who at the end sees the light of Dulaine’s effect on the students. It’s the students who are at their best, and although they overact the punk aspect sometimes, they are recognizable to anyone who attended high school.

AS: I felt that Banderas brought a heated passion to the whole movie. He kept the film moving at times, when without him, it would lose steam very quickly. Very patient and controlled, he proved a good contrast to Woodard. She presented her role in a very erratic manner, as she jumped up and down with emotions and reasoning and, unfortunately, came across as a cookie cutter image of the emotional-yet-stubborn high school principal.

JB: What really stole the show, however, was the dancing. That’s really why people go to see these kinds of movies, anyway. Forget the story, it’s all about the style. The dancing was full of energy and really showcased the talent it takes to pull off such a graceful and powerful sport. The best thing the actors did was learn how to dance for this movie, and they did a great job.

AS: I felt the choreography was excellent. However, as much as the two main students practiced, they didn’t really make their last dance spectacular or as grand as I would have hoped. With tangos, waltzes and other ballroom dances, coupled with various styles of hip-hop dances, “Take the Lead” certainly does take the lead with amazing choreography and phenomenal dance sequences.

JB: “Take the Lead” follows a simple formula: Students are delinquent, new teacher tries to inspire the students, students miraculously become interested and voila! Teacher successfully helps students. There are lots of little plot holes in “Take the Lead” that the audience can only overlook because it knows, ultimately, that Dulaine will succeed in teaching the students how to dance.

Although the rest of the film was mediocre, it did have one thing pulling for it, and that was showcased on the dance floor.

AS: Interspersed with clever dialogue and innovative angles, “Take the Lead” should have been better, but a few scenes did nothing to enhance the story. I would have rather learned more about Dulaine’s character.

Overall, “Take the Lead” was not a bad movie. It’s a very old concept tied with an even older story, but it had a good soundtrack and amazing choreography. Unfortunately, the dancing was not enough to successfully sell this movie. If “Take the Lead” were to dance, the film would have two left feet.