David Dyer

I was transcended on an emotional roller coaster; desperately moving and beautifully uplifting - every second was a wondrous, majestic experience! The inventive, creative, vibrant, and colourful opening numbers exposed me to a world of pure joy, in which I was allowed to be absorbed into as a viewer. As the film progressed, the emotional aspect of the film slowly increased and I was incredibly moved by the end of the film, yet vastly entertained by the sheer performance level of the production. This film features an exemplary cast - Sarah Lancashire, Sharon Horgan, and Richard E Grant to mention a few notable actors, plus the flourishing masterclass of Max Harwood, a foreshadow of a majestic future for musical theatre. The social issues discussed in the film were challenged beautifully, and sets itself as an inspiration for any uncertain young person - male, female, or other. I was especially impressed by it's detail of family conflicts, and also Jamie having an accepting and supportive mother, yet a father who had an aversion towards him, as opposed to both parents deterring him and the film becoming too intensely depression; it brought conflict and revealed a true reality yet kept itself true to the film's joyous message, and representing love given to the queer community as well as hate. Each part was played beautifully, each issue was tackled appropriately, each character was fully developed, and the film saw a magical musical ending - I loved it!

I watched this with my elderly relatives, both of them absolutely loved it. I enjoyed it too, but I understand why it may not be everyone's cup of tea. There were moments where it was light, humorous, and bittersweet. There were moments where it was deep, profound, and true-to-life. The acting from Jennifer Saunders, Ball Gilly, Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, and David Bradley was very good, with all of their characters having personas that I found funny, charming, and moving. The movie on whole was very emotional, with much of it being very moving and profound, and other parts being downright sad, and could be seen as "depressing" by some viewers. Sad films can be very difficult to judge as some will be "touched" and "moved" and think it's beautiful and wonderful and very good. Others will call it "depressing". There was a twist at the end which was quite abrupt but I personally thought that the abrupt ending could be very true-to-life and you could even relate to Saunders' character a little bit. For me the abrupt ending was true-to-life, quenching, and real. However, I can understand why others would think of it to "ruin" the film entirely. It just shows what really goes on in the world, some like that displayed in a film, some don't. Overall, I thought the acting, story, characters, and message of the whole film was truly wonderful, but, as all films go, it's not for everyone.

I don't like the new head judge she has obvious favourites, she is picky with some and that is her job but when some other couple does a performance that is the same quality or even worse she will not even think and say it was really good.... I'd say that Len Goodman was a lot pickier but at least he was fair and was picky when ANYONE stepped out of line, and not showing obvious favourites. I also think Shirley REALLY over scores some of the couples, and under scores others, the show is a lot more over scored generally (except for Craig.) To my eyes that is kinda understandable but Craig is always saying; "This is a dance competition!" I would say it was much better with Bruce Forsyth, but I think Claudia is a pretty good compromise. Another thing I don't like about the show is the couple's choice. It's ridiculous that people can leap about doing a really simplified couple's choice routine before they do a basic waltz. I think I'd like it a lot more if they did them all later, because, credit where credit's due, if the dancers have been really good throughout, couple's choice will be really good for them. Overall though, I really recommend this show. No, it's not quite as good as it used to be, but we still look forward to watching it every year and enjoy watching it very much. I would even go as far to say it's the best family entertainment show on the BBC currently. If couple's choice was tweaked so they could do it later in the competition, and Shirley was given the boot (I can't promise anything but with all this over scoring and favouritism she MIGHT be on her way out) I would give this show five stars.