Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005)

Original title

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

Directed by

Randall Miller

Genre

musical film, comedy drama, romance film, romantic comedy

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 43m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 74 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A widower grieving his wife signs up for a ballroom dancing class. There he meets other students with their own struggles and forms new connections through dance and community.

poignantwistfulgentlehopefultenderbittersweetintimatewarm

What happens

Randall Miller (born July 24, 1962) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and occasional actor. At the American Film Institute (AFI), Miller received acclaim for his 1990 short film Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School. This led to a career directing films in Hollywood in the 1990s, including the comedies Class Act (1992), Houseguest (1995), and The 6th Man (1997). In his 40s, Miller ventured into independent film, taking money out of his house to direct and produce Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005), an expansion of his 1990 short into a full-length feature. Miller followed this with the indie films Nobel Son (2007), Bottle Shock (2008), and CBGB (2013), all starring Alan Rickman in the lead role. Miller self-distributed and raised the money for Bottle Shock, his greatest critical success, though the film received generally negative to mixed reviews. Miller has closely collaborated with his wife Jody Savin on many of his projects, writing and producing multiple films together. In 2014, while directing and producing Midnight Rider in Georgia, an on-set accident would occur, leading to the death of camera operator Sarah Jones. In 2015, following the accident, Miller pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal. After completing his prison sentence and probation period, Miller's manslaughter conviction was removed from his record per a Georgia law which permits first-time offenders to expunge their records. Miller is the first filmmaker in history imprisoned for an on-set accident, though others have been criminally charged. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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