Dancing Queens

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Dancing Queens
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Dancing Queens is an uplifting Swedish drama about a young woman who has recently lost her mother. They shared a love of dance and particularly disco, but since her mother's passing, Dylan's life has stagnated. Soon, however, she finds herself in the city hoping for an audition. Instead, what she finds is a group of drag queen dancers who are in dire need of help. Dylan hits it off with the choreographer, and soon they concoct a plan to get Dylan dancing in the group, even though she's a woman. Expect lots of dance numbers, prominent song lyrics that can be sexual in nature, and lots of strong language, including "f--k," "f--king," "s--t," "bitch," "fairy," and "hell," and "God" as an exclamation. Adults kiss romantically and talk about relationships, and a stepbrother awkwardly proposes to his stepsister. Adults drink alcohol, and a man is shown stumbling around and behaving quite drunk during one scene. Adults also smoke cigarettes.
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What's the Story?
In DANCING QUEENS, Dylan (Molly Nutley) still mourns over her mother's death. They shared a love of dance, but since she passed, Dylan hasn't felt passionate about dance or life. Eventually, Dylan finds herself stumbling into a new dancing gig, but only kind of. What has she gotten herself into?
Is It Any Good?
There's a lot to like about this Swedish movie, but some choices hold it back. Dancing Queens has a lot going for it (solid acting, fun dance numbers, a happy and supportive cast featuring queer roles), but it falls short in a number of ways. Certainly, there's a degree of charm, humor, and positivity about the film. It has heart and is working toward a more accepting world. Early on, main character Dylan calls out another man's sexist comment about his wife enjoying being in the kitchen. Later, a young man comes out to his parents, who react supportively. People are open to learning. And there's no conflict.
The movie means well, as does Dylan, but it also doesn't do anything to really push the genre to new and/or interesting places, nor does it really say anything about drag culture, drag representation, or gender generally, and for some, it could feel a bit touristy. While Dylan's secret does lead to a very brief commentary about the overall performativity of gender, the exploration is shallow. To be clear, Dylan, a cisgender, straight White woman, pretends to be a man who also identifies as a drag queen. This film is completely Dylan's story, and the other dancers are only supporting characters who immediately like Dylan and back her only, it seems, because she can dance. This speaks to how there arguably isn't enough difference in the supporting cast of dancers, both in conception and in performance. Another way this manifests is in how little drama there actually is in this film. Everyone is nice, supportive, happy (except for Dylan), encouraging, understanding, and accepting of Dylan. Which brings up another point: Beyond Dylan's incredible dance skills, what about her exactly is so attractive? She's gloomy, sullen, quiet, and odd, and it isn't exactly clear why everyone thinks she's so great.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the genre of dance movies. How does Dancing Queens stack up against other dance movie greats? Why do you think this is?
Discuss drag queens and/or other ways of explicitly performing gender. Given that drag is often about parodizing and subverting gender, do you think the film succeeds in respectfully portraying drag culture? What about the drag queens themselves?
What do you think the overall message of this movie is?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 3, 2021
- Cast: Molly Nutley, Fredrik Quinones, Christopher Wollter, Claes Malmberg
- Director: Helena Bergstrom
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: Arts and Dance, Friendship
- Run time: 110 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
For kids who love dance
Themes & Topics
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