Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Coolestmovies Typical underdog story about a fallen dance champ (Park Kyon-hyeong) forced pair up with a mousy Korean-Chinese immigrant (Moon Geun-young from A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) in need of citizenship in order to take back the crown. Plays all the familiar notes from just about any sport competition movie you'd care to remember, but cleverly opts out of the usual, predictable triumphant ending by having Moon enter the big dance finals with with Park's dirty rival (!). Moon's a doll in this, as she has been in everything she's been in so far (think LOVER'S CONCERTO or better yet, MY LITTLE BRIDE). WIth a face seemingly purpose-built for crying at the slightest hint of heartbreak, she can only be a natural; her character has to remain doe-eyed and lovestruck with Park, and typically selfless in spite of his harsh ways, while becoming a seasoned professional dancer in a very short period of time. Another reason I like a movie like this: the leads are actually required to DANCE. Their routines are modest, but frequent long tales reveal that they did indeed learn some killer moves. The championship dance is built from editing more than performer skill, but one can still see the effort being applied.

katyzone ****Tiny Spoiler, About the Beginning so TINY****A bit soapy if you know what I mean, which as an older experienced viewer means I love it! Watched several US/GB romances lately and they seem to have lost it completely! The it being the untenable to explain thing that makes a movie enjoyable. They try too hard to be hip and fresh, and you know what? THERE IS NO such thing. It's all been done, okay?The SK are doing well with sensitivity and yes it is a bit cliché how things happen, like the scene where the girl is terrified that the man will want her to sleep with him when all he wants is another chance at a comeback.You know what? cliché is good! We are all the same when it is said and done, and one generation after another, human nature IS THE SAME.Anyway, the humor is great! That is for older viewers. Most of the young and teens WILL NOT GET IT nor want to. Or hate subtitles or foreign film.7/10

DICK STEEL Na Young-sae was once touted as the best dance trainer in Korea, and was in contention for another trophy during the national dance competition, until dirty underhand tactics by rivals ruined it all for him. Seeking a comeback, his manager and him hatched a plan to import a foreign talent from China, Jang Chae-rin, to partner with him and reclaim his spot at the top.Alas, Chae-rin turns out to be the inexperienced teenage sister of the real mccoy, and Young-sae goes into a frenzy as the championships is only 3 months away. Reluctantly, and realizing the lack of time, Young-sae has no choice but to make do with what he has, and put his training skills to the test in turning a rookie into a professional ballroom dancer.The storyline sounds familiar, like Dirty Dancing's, exploring the situational device of having a teacher and his protégé go through their lives together experiencing new found relationships through the language of dance. They start off awkwardly, and most of the time the plot focuses on the rigorous training in which Young-sae puts Chae-rin through. There is an unnecessary subplot though, of the marriage investigators who probe into the fake marriage between Young-sae and Chae-rin (that's the rouse used to get her to Korea), just to add to some laughs.Dance has always been associated with passion, feelings and love. This movie doesn't stray from these themes, and the main leads heat up the screen with their sensual dance moves, albeit too little screen time. Just when you thought it's time for them to take on the championships and arch-rivals, the plot takes a twist, which I thought was probably an attempt to avoid being predictable.Ladies might want to prepare your hankies for the emotional scene towards the end, where Young-sae and Chae-rin declares their love for each other indirectly at the marriage bureau. Extremely touching that, especially when you think back on their attempts to fabricate a fictional story on their relationship, which has taken on for real.It is of course helpful that the two leads are eye candy. Park Keon-hyeong as Young-sae seemed to have the easier role of the mentor, snarling most of the time with a diva-ish, yet tender attitude towards his protégé. Mun Guen-yeong has the tougher role to flesh, transforming herself from simple naive girl into chic professional dancer, with a heart pining for Young-sae. The chemistry between the two is superb, and their dances together once they got their groove right, just magical.Which of course brings me to my main gripe - I want more! But the attempt to make the story unconventional turned my request down, although the end credits featured a clip of them dancing, serving as some kind of compensation for the lack of dancing screen time. It's not the partner, but the partnership that mattered, said Young-sae. It rocked, and left me wanting more! Some might find it "been-there-done-that", but I recommend this for those who which to get jiggy with it on the dance floor. I found myself tapping to the soundtrack as we get whirled around the ballroom, and I'm sure ballroom dance lovers, or romantics at heart, will do the same too.

Maomao Innocent Steps (international title) is a romantic Korean tale about a cute 19 year old girl (Mun Geun-yeong) from China on a dance contract. She is paid to practice and dance with her partner (Park Geon Hyeong) for the upcoming 'KDFA Cup Korea Dancesport Championship'. For the next three months, she trained hard for the competition. Love blossomed, of course. Being professional during the practices, they did not reveal their feelings to each other.A couple of twists happened and the last 30 minutes proved once again that Korean movies do not bow to mainstream stereotyped story lines or endings. It was a 30% bitter 70% sweet conclusion, not a Hollywood perfect fairy tale. Good flick to watch with your loved one.Mao points: 7/10