I was very excited to watch Hallmark's A Nutcracker Christmas, because it starred the fantastic dancer Sascha Radetsky. Since I've seen Center Stage dozens of times, I was looking forward to seeing more of his talent in The Nutcracker. Viewers beware: not only does the movie not showcase his dancing, but there's hardly any dancing in the entire movie! In fact, there's a heartbreaking scene where Sascha tries to dance in a private studio room, but after a few mere seconds, he winces and clutches his knee. I just can't think of him as being over-the-hill, so I'll stick with Center Stage.
The actual plot of this movie is a young woman, Amy Acker, who hasn't danced in years. Her niece gets cast as Clara in a local production of The Nutcracker, and Amy happily watches from the sidelines. But where's the conflict? Do you think the Sugar Plum Fairy might have an accident, and that everyone might beg Amy to step in? As Sascha says in the preview, "If you don't dance the Sugar Plum Fairy, there's no show!" Watch at your own risk and know that very little of the actual ballet is included.
The actual plot of this movie is a young woman, Amy Acker, who hasn't danced in years. Her niece gets cast as Clara in a local production of The Nutcracker, and Amy happily watches from the sidelines. But where's the conflict? Do you think the Sugar Plum Fairy might have an accident, and that everyone might beg Amy to step in? As Sascha says in the preview, "If you don't dance the Sugar Plum Fairy, there's no show!" Watch at your own risk and know that very little of the actual ballet is included.