Bryan Kluger I've been a fan of dance for my entire life. From as long as I can remember, I've taught myself to dance by watching old VHS tapes of Michael Jackson, movies that starred Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and concerts of Motown legends that showcased a lot of dance numbers. Later in life, I even took some classes to learn how to move better. Needless to say, movies that involve dancing make me happy. I'll rephrase that. Movies with a great plot, solid acting, and great direction that involve the art of dance make me happy. I will leave the 'Step Up' films on the side of the road any day.However, with this film by Susan Seidelman called 'Musical Chairs', this is one dance movie that you can add to one of your favorites, despite some of its clichés. Seidelman has rounded out her movie with an amazing cast and a good script that tells the story of love, tragedy, and dance, all from a beautiful perspective. Unfortunately, 'Musical Chairs' only came out in a few theaters across the U.S. during a weekend when a big blockbuster movie came out. Almost no critics or the viewing public saw this movie and thus, it was swept under the rug very quickly. Luckily for us, HBO is giving it a run on their cable network to give this great film its deserved spotlight.The film is set in New York and follows Armando (E.J. Bonilla), who is a man who has a passion for dance and wants desperately to do stage work, but can only find custodial work at a local dance studio to make ends meet and possibly get his foot in the door. While working there, he takes notice of the beautiful Mia Franklin (Leah Pipes), the star ballroom dancer who is secretly having an affair with with studio owner Daniel (Philip Willingham). Mia catches Armando dancing by himself one day and sees that he is actually quite good and gives him a few lessons.One day, Mia leaves the studio and ends up getting hit by a taxi, which leaves her a permanent paraplegic. Being madly in love with Mia, Armando persuades her and a few other people in the therapy hospital to join and compete in a wheelchair ballroom dancing competition. I know, this has Oscar written all over it, right? As Armando and Mia are falling love with each other, Armando's mother would rather see her son with another beautiful girl without a severe handicap, and she goes to great lengths to sabotage their relationship. Sometimes to comical outcomes.Through a lot of struggles, training, and dancing, Mia and Armando work towards winning that dance competition, but in fact, they might have already won, as they have found in each other their soul mate. I know it seems like there is a heavy layer of cheese throughout, but Seidelman's direction and Marty Madden's script hits the right steps every inch of the way, despite some of the clichés and story arcs you've seen in these types of romantic films before. Bonilla and Pipes give great performances and their chemistry on screen is infectious. 'Musical Chairs' is a very rewarding movie.

christopherwdaley This film's plot doesn't stray far from the rom-com bible but it does the genre proud. It's also packed full of wonderful characters who breath lots of life into a solid script.This is a great date movie or would be fantastic on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's like a good meal with a funny friend - familiar without being at all boring. And, yes, it has a message but it's not a "message movie." The filmmakers obviously set out to entertain and they do a great job of it.The cast is fun and very good looking. And several of the characters are fresh and new, particularly Chantelle (Laverne Cox) who steals several scenes. EJ Bonilla is fantastic as the lead and does a wonderful love- sick puppy face (without ever over doing it).Overall, a really enjoyable film that leaves you wanting to know what is next for these characters - as any good film should.

FilmRap This is a movie from which you will learn something about people and about the heart. It is about music and it is about dance . It is about what can happen when a person suddenly finds him or herself in a wheel chair for the rest of their life. Director Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan ) takes a screenplay by Marty Madden and somehow does a perfect casting job starting off with E.J Bonilla, a young actor who plays Armando with a flair for music, dance and the ability to project his intensity and his sincerity when he encounters Mia (Leah Pipes) a beautiful young dancer before and after her tragic accident. The story flows as smoothly as the music and the dance of this film. Most of the rest of the engaging cast is this young man's New York Puerto Rican second generation family who owns a restaurant and especially his mother (Pricilla Lopez) who has to struggle with her aspirations for her son and her realization of his love for his new girlfriend. The other group of extraordinary colorful players in this film are the people in wheelchairs who find that they can express themselves in dance. In reality only one of the actors, Auti Angel, who plays Nicky is actually confined to a wheel chair. She was a promising professional dancer who has a true story that is not too far from the plot of this movie. Behind the scenes we understand that she assisted and inspired the actors in wheelchairs to take on their personas. We view this movie as fairy tales where things happen and people say and do things not quite the way they may happen in real life. It reminds us of a musical where it can be convenient to suddenly find a place to sing (or in this case a hospital gym at night to dance in a special way). The characters and some of the dialog are somewhat clichéd. This doesn't seem to really matter because the emotion and the message of the movie is very real. We think everyone should be able to relate to this film and learn something about the human spirit. We also think that it has the potential to live on by teaching young people in schools and be an inspiration for the thousands of people every year who find themselves in a place they never thought they would be. Part of the storyline of the movie is a dance contest being held in New York labeled "The First International Wheelchair Dance Competition" In reality, while wheelchair dancing is big in Europe it hasn't quite caught on in the USA. It would not surprise us if after this film is released and gets around we will see this event in some major city. That is part of the great potential of this movie. FilmRap.net

amanda-bowers A sweet and fun story, and a great performance by EJ Bonilla.Susan Seidelman delivers a heartwarming and beautiful love story full of energy, emotion and uplifting moments. Leah Pipes and EJ Bonilla have great chemistry and look like they're on their way to be stars.The dancing is well choreographed and the music is upbeat and exciting. Seidelman does a good job of balancing the sadness of the tragedy with inspiring scenes and a moving ending. The film has and amazing spirit and leaves you feeling happy and upbeat.I would recommend this film to everyone. It's a sweet love story and gives the audience a beautiful look into an unusual world of dance.