Left Me Frazzled
The Sanosafe Group Spectacular Trophy is coming up which means for two dance schools and plenty of pushy mums it is rehearsal time. For dance school teacher Mr. Jonathan (Ben Miller) that means exploring his version of dance which includes imagining your pets being electrified. But then there his rival Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall) a more traditional dance teacher who doesn't get what Mr. Jonathan calls dance or why all the mums love him.
You come across a movie you have never heard of which seems to have a lot of people raving about it and you think well maybe I am in for a treat. I don't, my first though is why I have never heard of this movie if it is that great and that is what I wondered when I came across "Razzle Dazzle" and found people giving it full marks. It didn't take long for me to realise why I had never heard of it as it is a mockumenary and that makes it an acquired taste which I don't have. I don't know what it is but fake documentaries are mostly a painful experience because they thrive on stupid and larger than life gags which for the life of me don't seem funny.
So what does that mean in context of "Razzle Dazzle"; well to start with we have the delusional Mr. Jonathan who says things like I want to teach them about venereal disease and imagine their brains coming out of their eye sockets which isn't in my books at all funny. We also have a whole range of extreme characters from over the top pushy mums to a mute fashion designer which again are not exactly funny. It isn't even a need to have experience of the dance school thing to understand as it isn't subtle for a minute.
The best that "Razzle Dazzle" gets is when it tosses in a reference to other dance movies with Paul Mercurio showing up as himself for a dance scene. The thing is that there are by no means enough of these spoof scenes which makes "Razzle Dazzle" hard work.
What this all boils down to is that "Razzle Dazzle" really didn't work for me and ended up another one of those mockumentaries which thinks it is being funny but more often than not isn't. But admittedly mockumentaries are an acquired taste and I am sure that if you enjoy fake documentary comedies this will amuse.
