September 18, 2008

Everything was beautiful at the ballet

As I'm sure you guessed, I'm a movie fanatic. Old, new, foreign, indie; I'm all over them. I love a good story whether it teaches me something, makes me cry, makes me want to get up and dance, or makes me laugh until my sides hurt. I use my discretion to screen those I'd be interested in and those I would not.

I also love books. I have always loved books. I, again, love a good story. Classics, contemporary, childrens, foreign, etc. Reading allows me to go anywhere, any time, and meet some of the greatest characters a person could ever hope to return to.

When the two are paired, I've learned that it can go one of two ways: fantastic or a dismal failure. I always hope for the best, but alas it cannot always be the case. I always get excited when I hear of one of my favorite books is being turned into a film.

Around last December I turned to a childhood favorite. Well, actually, three of my childhood favorites. Noel Streatfield's classics: Ballet Shoes, Theatre Shoes, and Dancing Shoes. I've always been charmed by these stories. I love the British factor, the history factor, the performance factor, and the charm factor. There is something that will always endear me toward these stories.

After I read them, I decided to look them up on Amazon to see if they were films. There was one made of Ballet Shoes made many years ago. And then . . . there was one to be playing on the BBC on Boxing Day last year, which had a fantastic cast. I was so excited! Emilia Fox! Gemma Jones! Harriet Walters! Richard Griffiths! Emma Watson! HUZZAH! Sadly, it was not on a DVD which had the ability to be played on American DVD players.

So on Thursday I had a rotten time at UNR. I went to Barnes and Noble to calm down enough to drive safely. And to wait to see if Dana was still interested in our tenative dinner plans. I was browsing many areas within the wonderful two story building filled to the brim with information and imagination. I meandered toward the films. They were playing an ad for Ballet Shoes--the version I'd been dying to see! I went on the rampage searching for it to see if they actually had the movie. To my delight--they did! So I bought it.

It was charming. Not completely like the book (the girls were older, for one), but still lovely. One thing cracked me up like no other. It was rated PG. Why? Because there was one scene where two of the adults smoked (gasp!). It lasted all of maybe two minutes. And Emilia Fox (Garnie) coughed as a result of her attempt at it. Hilarious!

The title comes from a song called "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line. It seemed fitting.