It’s no secret that the success of many movies is often linked to a successful marketing campaign. But what happens when a movie is released to drive the success of a dance?
In the 1990 movie, The Forbidden Dance, Nisa (Laura Harring) is the daughter of an Amazonian chieftain. To prevent the Amazon forest from being destroyed by white men whose only eye is on the bottom line, Nisa travels to Los Angeles. There she meets Jason (Jeff James), the son of an upper class family who convinces Nisa that the only way to save her people’s ancestral land and the Amazon forest is to win a televised dance contest.
This movie tries in vain to be another version of Dirty Dancing. It’s not, in fact it’s far from it. Yes, the topics of multiculturalism and respecting the environment are thrown in for good measure, but this movie is just plain awful. The narrative is predictable at best and the clothes are so early 1990’s that they are hideous. It’s clear that the sole aim of this film was to convince audience members that the Lambada was the dance they should all be doing.
Do I recommend it? No.
Writergurlny 