Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Co-producer and director: Lewis Gilbert, Umbrella Entertainment.
If you are a fan of singing and dancing, then Stepping Out is one film you should definitely watch. It’s an old-fashioned musical, but the ‘let’s-put-on-a-show’ adage is what makes it so much fun. It’s an irresistible song-and-dance show down memory lane, and the nostalgia alone is infectious!
American actress, dancer and singer, Academy Award-winner Liza Minnelli (Cabaret, Arthur, The Sterile Cuckoo) plays Mavis Turner, a has-been Broadway performer, who gives tap lessons to a group of misfits inside a Buffalo, New York church basement. Mavis is now merely trying to make ends meet, while also struggling with a personal relationship with a career-frustrated musician boyfriend.
With another Oscar winner Shelley Winters (The Diary of Anne Frank, Patch of Blue) as Mrs. Glenda Fraser, a glum rehearsal pianist, Mavis tries to teach tap to a class of colourful women and a solitary man, Geoffrey (Bill Irwin, Interstellar), a shy insurance salesman. Other well-known actors in the 1991 film include Julie Walters, Jane Krakowski and Andrea Martin.
Concerned about money issues and the ability to keep the class active, Mavis learns of a talent competition and persuades the group to compete. While dealing with their personal issues, the ‘Mavis Turner Tappers’ end up performing a rather defective, but gratifying glitzy and glamorous movements in dance. Through their dance classes, the group bond and realise what they can achieve. The spotlight is on tap lessons – and they are a blast!
It’s a treat to watch Minnelli at work. She was 45 when this film was made. Talent certainly runs in the family, as she is the daughter of Award-winning Judy Garland (A Star Is Born, Judgment at Nuremberg). Magic can still happen when you’re Stepping Out!
The musical comedy is directed by Lewis Gilbert (You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Alfie, Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine), and written by Richard Harris (based on his 1984 play Stepping Out).
What year was Stepping Out released? If your answer is correct, then you could win one of three DVDs of Stepping Out. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 31 May 2021. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 1 June 2021.
