Dancer, Texas (1998)

Dancer, Texas: Directed by Tim McCanlies. With Breckin Meyer, Peter Facinelli, Eddie Mills, Ethan Embry. Four friends from the small Texas town of Dancer are graduating from high school and are planning to move to L.A. after graduation, taking the population of Dancer down to 77 from 81. All other 77 residents feel threatened by their decision and decide to spoil their plans by all means possible.

“Dancer, Texas isnu0026#39;t a perfect film, but at least itu0026#39;s watchable. Initially the cast didnu0026#39;t really turn any heads or catch my attention, but the naturalness the actors encompassed in their characters was quite endearing. Considering the lackluster filmographies of the four main characters, this film will be a standout in their careers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat I especially enjoyed was the fact that the film didnu0026#39;t poke fun at small town life. While small town people are often times ridiculed in most films, McCanlies tries honoring them by portraying their humility and honor. What I especially liked was how slow the film was, a perfect juxtaposition to the speed of small-town life. The only thing I was somewhat down on was the lack of development in terms of father-son relationships. While Terrell Leeu0026#39;s relationship with his father was revealed quite nicely, we didnu0026#39;t get much in the way of Squirrelu0026#39;s or Johnu0026#39;s father.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBeyond that one little oversight, I felt the film had a solid enough ground to stand on.”