I spent a pleasant evening last night viewing this superb portrait of americana. I only wish that I had grown up in such a small town. These kids, teenagers, had it all, most of all solid friendships. I never was able to determine for certain how many if any would leave that fateful Monday morning on the journey to Los Angeles, leaving the small town and its people behind. That some left was inevitable. That some stayed was natural. I would have stayed. As the song at the end said, Dancer may not be on the map, Mr. McNally but it ought to be. I agree. My next visit to West Texas will include it. What a delight I have waiting for me. I feel SO good!!!

Dancer, Texas isn't a perfect film, but at least it's watchable. Initially the cast didn't really turn any heads or catch my attention, but the naturalness the actors encompassed in their characters was quite endearing. Considering the lackluster filmographies of the four main characters, this film will be a standout in their careers.

What I especially enjoyed was the fact that the film didn't poke fun at small town life. While small town people are often times ridiculed in most films, McCanlies tries honoring them by portraying their humility and honor. What I especially liked was how slow the film was, a perfect juxtaposition to the speed of small-town life. The only thing I was somewhat down on was the lack of development in terms of father-son relationships. While Terrell Lee's relationship with his father was revealed quite nicely, we didn't get much in the way of Squirrel's or John's father.

Beyond that one little oversight, I felt the film had a solid enough ground to stand on.

I'm not familiar with small-town Texas, but I do believe that this story could be situated anywhere. I'm convinced that all teenagers sooner or later make big plans to leave home far behind, in order to start a 'better' life of their own. And it's exactly that recognizability that will make sure that this movie will not only be liked by the American audience.

Dancer Texas is a small town with only 88 inhabitants. This year there are only four teenagers, with completely different backgrounds, who will graduate from high school. The four are friends and have been planning this day during their entire lives. After the graduation they will leave town for L.A. But as all inhabitants are watching them, give them advice and put bets on who is going to stay and who is going to leave, the four find it much harder to leave home than what they initially expected...

Even though the movie was incredibly slow, especially in the beginning, I must say that I quite liked it. The main reason for that is because I could recognize myself in the four friends. OK, they looked pretty stereotypical, but when you combine them, I'm pretty sure that everybody will find something of himself / herself in them.

Despite the fact that this isn't a perfect movie, I still give this movie a 7/10. The acting was more than OK and the idea behind the story is good. Too bad that they had to use so many stereotypes and didn't dare to come up with a new approach. Otherwise this would have been an absolute masterpiece.