Billy Elliott

Billy Elliot is such a famous film, that I hesitate to admit I wasn't impressed by it.

What really annoyed me was that we see Billy dreaming of being a ballet dancer and secretly attending ballet lessons - yet when we see him dancing along the streets of his home town, he's tap dancing! I could almost hear the producers - "What? You want him to pirouette down the street? No way! It would look too sissy! Let's get him doing something more manly!" How dare they?

And why on earth cast a non-dancer as Billy's teacher?  Julie Walters is a terrific actress, but she wouldn't convince any dancer that she ever had any dance training.

Billy Elliot the musical is a different story.  I found myself getting caught up in the miners' plight, and it was very moving.  And the scene where Billy talks about "electricity" still gives me goosebumps.   It's worthgoing out of your way to get tickets!