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The Forbidden Dance

The Forbidden Dance

Romance · Drama · 1990

A princess in the Amazon rain forests tries to fight a conglomerate threatening the forests by going to Los Angeles. There she links up with a rich kid who tells her that she must get on television to succeed with her mission. Quick as a wink, the two come up with the idea of winning a lambada dance contest.

Movie details

The Forbidden Dance

“LAMBADA...If it got any hotter, it wouldn't be dancing!”

1990 Romance · Drama 1h 37m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

A princess in the Amazon rain forests tries to fight a conglomerate threatening the forests by going to Los Angeles. There she links up with a rich kid who tells her that she must get on television to succeed with her mission. Quick as a wink, the two come up with the idea of winning a lambada dance contest.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Forbidden Dance?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Greydon Clark

Written by

Roy Langsdon · Menahem Golan · John Platt

Laura Harring

Laura Harring

Nisa

J

Jeff James

Jason Anderson

Á

Ángela Moya

Carmen

Sid Haig

Sid Haig

Joa

Barbra Brighton

Barbra Brighton

Ashley Wells

Richard Lynch

Richard Lynch

Benjamin Maxwell

Pilar Del Rey

Pilar Del Rey

Queen

Court is in session

Put The Forbidden Dance on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.