Don't get too 'Hot' and bothered

Fifth grade: that itchy space between childhood and the realm of the teenager. It's rough. Fortunately for the fifth graders of the New York City public school system, a ballroom dancing program will smooth out the wrinkles of burgeoning adolescence, calm their fears for their future and help them transcend their bargain-basement roots. \nAt least, that's what director Marilyn Agrelo wants the program to do in her documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom."\nFor the kids, in reality, the program serves to teach them some cool dances, gives them the opportunity to put their hands all over the opposite sex and affords the chance to win a six-foot-high trophy. \nThe film wanted to be about inner-city kids, destined to be drug dealers, who get put back on track by a wonderful ballroom dancing program. A few stories were inspiring -- Wilson, the recent Dominican immigrant, whose English improves during the program -- but for the most part, the changes seemed to be edited into the movie. It feels forced. These kids know about ingrained poverty, about the importance of parental influence and they have a very sophisticated grasp on how the world works. Their worldliness alone is a story -- but that's not enough. This movie has to be about lives changed. \nThe film also focuses on too many kids for me to really attach to any one. It does a beautiful job of capturing the mass chaos of a competition involving children, but if it wanted to yank on my heartstrings, it should've given me a few loveable characters to attach to. And there were a wealth of possibilities: Emma, the precocious little charmer who informs the audience that scientific research has proven that "women are the more advanced civilization," or the handsome little Wilson, whose recent arrival in the United States could've been played up. \nThe film also begs unfair comparison to 2002's "Spellbound." "Mad Hot Ballroom" captured the mayhem of competition better, but "Spellbound" set a gold standard in the "cute-kids-caught-in-bone-crushing-competition" subgenre. "MHB" doesn't reach that. It tries to be too many things at once. \nI would've been happy with a movie about some kids who learn some good lessons while learning to do some cool dances. But this movie yearns way too desperately to be about huge dramatic changes and life-altering experiences. My advice? Stop. Don't try to ram so much drama into the film. Let the subtle humor carry the film and let the gentle changes speak for themselves. \nThe bottom line: go and see it to see fifth graders doing the merengue. They're adorable. Don't go see it for life lessons or innovative filmmaking.