dancing queen movie review

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dancing Queens’ On Netflix, Where A Young Woman Finds Joy Dancing At A Drag Club

Where to stream:.

• Dancing Queens

With Pride Month now in motion, the biggest streamers – Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and more – are all promoting LGBTQ+ stories on their platforms, both fresh and familiar. Swedish comedy Dancing Queens , now streaming on Netflix, tells the story of a young woman who has her eyes opened to the world of drag. Unfortunately, the movie gets so obsessed with telling her story that it relegates its more interesting queer characters to the sidelines.

DANCING QUEENS : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

While Dylan lies about who she is to the queens at the club, she also lies to her grandmother and father that she’s still in the audition process for the dance company. It’s hard for her to juggle these lies on top of the painful grief she’s experiencing, and she’s not the only one hurting; at the club, old-school queen Tommy (Claes Malmberg) struggles with the loss of his own love and with letting go of campy ’70s dance numbers. With the future of the club in jeopardy, all of these dancers must put aside their differences to create something truly special… and Dylan must learn to live and love her life without her mother by her side.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Dancing Queens  feels like the lovechild of flicks like  Flashdance ,  Burlesque , and the recent  Into the Beat , though none of them possess the glitz, glam, or camp that Dancing Queens  does.

Performance Worth Watching: As the grieving Tommy, Claes Malmberg immediately proves himself a scene-stealer. There’s a twinkle in his eye, a lovable quality to him that’s apparent with each little nod or gesture, or in his quiet moments where he speaks aloud to the late Jackie. His constant insisting to perform “I Will Survive” and his magnetic smile, whether in full drag or completely stripped down, make Tommy a sparkly, deeply memorable character from his very first appearance. It’s no wonder Malmberg has been working in Sweden so long.

Sex and Skin: Despite all the sex that tends do go hand-in-hand with dancing, Dancing Queens  is pretty sexless.

Our Take:  Dancing Queens  is an interesting little film. With an almost two-hour runtime, it’s certainly too long, but its heart is so big that it’s hard to fault it for most of its issues. The biggest issue the film has is its choice to use gay characters as secondary devices in a cisgender woman’s story. Dylan, played so sweetly by Molly Nutley, is a likable enough lead, but that’s kind of all she is. All we know about her is that she’s a grieving good girl who wants to dance, but can’t quite bring herself to following the loss of her mother. Her character really gets little else to do and never gets a chance to grow, which is a shame, because there’s definitely something interesting about growth and grief. But despite the film’s sweetness and best intentions, having a cisgender young woman disguise herself and lie to a group of drag queens who take pride in their safe space feels incredibly ill-advised. This isn’t to say that  Dancing Queens  maliciously sidelines its gay characters, but it’s kind of a bummer to see them relegated to stereotypical roles only really in place to support the story of its female lead.

Despite all my problems with the film’s central premise, I was totally charmed by the supporting cast. The queens at “Queens” are what make  Dancing Queens  worth watching at all, enriching the flick’s world with their (occasionally clichéd) stories and their undeniable chemistry with one another. The show-stopping scenes at Queens are really what give  Dancing Queens  any electricity at all, offering something genuinely memorable in a movie that otherwise plays it extremely safe. It’s such a shame that these players are so often made spectators in Dylan’s story. The loose ends may be tied up so well that it’s almost eye-roll inducing, but I never wanted to look away from the film’s ensemble. If only Dancing Queens  understood where its real strength lies.

Our Call: SKIP IT. While Dancing Queens is undeniably sweet and the dazzling ensemble’s scenes are certainly worth viewing, the film makes quite the mistake in giving a cisgender woman the spotlight in a queer space.

Should you stream or skip the Swedish LGBTQ+ comedy #DancingQueens on @netflix ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) June 4, 2021

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski .

Stream  Dancing Queens  on Netflix

• Stream It Or Skip It

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‘Dancing Queens’ Review: Drag Doesn’t Discriminate in This Sparkly but Insipid Swedish Comedy

A talented young female dancer finds creative fulfillment in a drag club in a probable crowdpleaser that is light on conflict or genuine queerness.

By Guy Lodge

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The upshot of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” becoming an internationally franchised pop phenomenon is that drag performance has firmly moved from the LGBTQ fringes into the mainstream: As an artform with an audience that now spans all demographics, it follows that it will become more inclusive on stage too. That’s the driving moral, at least, of “Dancing Queens,” a chipper, youth-targeted Swedish comedy that, in more ways than one, encapsulates the cultural broadening of drag in the post-RuPaul era.

Actor-turned-filmmaker Helena Bergström brings sequined cheer and free-to-be-you-and-me spirit to this story of a young, cisgender female dancer who gets an unlikely break by concealing her gender identity to perform in an ailing Gothenburg drag club, and it should duly find a sizable global audience when it premieres on Netflix at the outset of Pride month. In its eagerness to please, however, the film winds up pushing its own queer characters and narratives to the sidelines — a paradox that it never quite resolves.

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The relative edgelessness of “Dancing Queens” comes as a disappointment from Bergström, best known to international audiences as the onscreen half of one of modern Swedish cinema’s essential partnerships: With her filmmaker husband Colin Nutley, she headlined a series of 1990s arthouse hits (“House of Angels,” “The Last Dance,” “Under the Sun”) that wryly probed the country’s social mores and sexual politics. Nutley serves as an executive producer on “Dancing Queens,” though the tangy irony of his and Bergstrom’s past glories isn’t much in evidence. Keeping things comfortably in the family, their daughter Molly Nutley assumes leading lady duties here, and to better effect: Her fresh, quietly controlled screen presence saves many a scene from outright schmaltz.

Popular on Variety

She has a hard task, however, finding many corners or creases in the character of Dylan, a heroine depicted from the outset as a straightforwardly good girl who Just Wants To Dance. We first encounter her tending to the grave of her recently deceased mother (also a dancer, played in gilded flashblacks by Ellen Lindblad), singing a lilting rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” under her breath. We then cut to her working her dual jobs, running deliveries for her father’s grocery store in a quaint Bohuslän fishing village and offering high-energy dance classes to local moppets. Clearly, she has channeled her grief into a life lived predominantly for others.

Dylan’s plucky grandmother (Marie Göranzon) wants Dylan to pursue her (and her mother’s) dreams of dancing for a bigger audience, and chides her into heading to Gothenburg to audition for a major modern dance company. The audition doesn’t come to pass, but through a decidedly unconvincing chain of events, Dylan is persuaded to take a job cleaning at hard-up drag club Queens, where a power struggle is under way between star performer Tommy (Claes Malmberg), an old-school queen who favors cheesy ’70s disco routines, and hip young choreographer Victor (Fredrik Quiñones), who sees no reason why Dylan can’t be the new queen on the block. Hiding her gender from everyone else at the club, they develop a slinky, crowd-pleasing new act.

From this hokey premise — built from equal parts “Flashdance,” “Burlesque” and “Yentl,” minus their collective camp value — “Dancing Queens” goes nowhere especially surprising, and at nearly two hours, takes its sweet time in doing so. Separate from her gradually fulfilled terpsichorean ambitions, and despite Nutley’s unforced charm, Dylan remains a bit of an empty vessel: Save for her strictly platonic friendship with Victor, there’s little in the way of a personal arc to supplement her predictable career progress.

The story’s most significant tensions, meanwhile, play out in various subplots between its secondary gay characters, all of whom are reduced to stock figures. Specifically queer dynamics of inter-generational friction, relationship insecurities and the anxiety of coming out are all handled in extreme précis form away from the film’s center, without imperiling its consistent, wholesome sexlessness: Even the dancing never threatens to get dirty.

There’s an interesting film to be made about women cracking the drag scene, shuffling through complex layers of gender identity and identification, but this innocuous feel-good trifle hasn’t exactly found it. When, left alone in the club one night, our heroine busts out some spontaneous moves to Gloria Gaynor’s immortal “I Will Survive,” we don’t feel the appropriate euphoria: Where the greatest drag queens genuinely make you believe they are lipsyncing for their lives, Dylan’s survival has never seemed in doubt.

Reviewed online, London, June 2, 2021. Running time: 111 MIN.

• Production: A Netflix presentation of a Sweetwater production. Producer: Joana Sorobetea. Executive producer: Colin Nutley, Mikael Bergkvist.
• Crew: Director: Helena Bergström. Screenplay: Bergström, Denize Karabuda. Camera: Peter Mokrosinski. Editor: Philip Puljak. Music: Gaite Storaas.
• With: Molly Nutley, Fredrik Quiñones, Claes Malmberg, Marie Göranzon, Christopher Wollter, Rakel Wärmländer, Ann Westin, Max Ulveson, Mattias Nordkvist, Razmus Nyström, André Christenson, Emil Almén, Fredrik Robertsson, Robert Fux, Louie Indriana, Dominika Peczynski. (Swedish, English, French dialogue)

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Dancing queens.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 0 Reviews
• Kids Say 0 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Woman joins drag queen group; some strong language.

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…

Why Age 15+?

Strong language throughout includes "f--k," "f--king," "s--t," "bitch," "fairy,"

A young man makes a suggestive comment toward his stepsister. A few romantic kis

A young man is drunk and stumbles into things. Adults drink alcohol and smoke ci

McDonald's is mentioned. Dame Edna and Bob Dylan are briefly discussed. Robert F

A young woman mourns the loss of her mother. Occasional flashbacks show her gaun

Any Positive Content?

Positive messages of compassion, gratitude, teamwork. Find ways to honor lost lo

Victor is nice, a good friend, passionate about his work. Dylan is still in pain

Many queer roles, men in feminine drag, primarily, are featured. But story focus

Strong language throughout includes "f--k," "f--king," "s--t," "bitch," "fairy," "God" (as an exclamation), "damn," and "hell."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A young man makes a suggestive comment toward his stepsister. A few romantic kisses between adults. For some viewers, parts of the dancing could be viewed as sensual or a little sexual in nature. Some song lyrics get explicit: "nipples hard from head to toe ... " and "make me wet everywhere."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A young man is drunk and stumbles into things. Adults drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

McDonald's is mentioned. Dame Edna and Bob Dylan are briefly discussed. Robert Fux has a cameo as himself.

Violence & Scariness

A young woman mourns the loss of her mother. Occasional flashbacks show her gaunt, in a hospital bed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Positive messages of compassion, gratitude, teamwork. Find ways to honor lost loved ones. Be honest with those who accept you for who you are.

Positive Role Models

Victor is nice, a good friend, passionate about his work. Dylan is still in pain from the death of her mother, but she opens up and falls in love with dance again. Everyone else seems kind and supportive, loving and accepting.

Diverse Representations

Many queer roles, men in feminine drag, primarily, are featured. But story focuses on a cisgender, straight White woman and her sadness rather than, for example, on Victor or Tommy La Diva. Both are far more interesting, and each of their histories and experiences are only hinted at. Further, supporting cast dancers are almost indistinguishable from one other, outside of body type. While some jealousy issues pop up along with an understandably hurt reaction to Dylan's reveal, each supporting character is very similar.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

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. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

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
• Inclusion Information : Female directors, Female actors
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Arts and Dance , Friendship
• Run time : 110 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘Dancing Queens’ Summary & Review – Presents Spectacular Drag Queens

Swedish film Dancing Queens flaunts a “Cyrano de Bergerac” narrative in a unique premise. The film follows a 23-year-old Swedish girl living on Hemon island (Gothenburg). Dylan Petterson aspires to become a professional dancer, fulfilling the dreams of her late mother. But due to a grieving father and ailing grandmother, she is trapped in the Swedish archipelago. Her days start with looking after her father’s store and end with watching her late mother’s dancing videos. Yet, somewhere she keeps her dreams alive. Her only outlet is the dance school she runs where she teaches the kids of the community.

The turn of events occurs when Dylan’s grandmother urges her to audition for a new dance show. Although Dylan doesn’t want to miss the chance, the weight of responsibilities pulls her down. Yet, she listens to her calling and visits Gothenburg, only to find out that the audition was a month ago and her grandma might have mixed up the dates. Dylan plans to go back and continue her dance school when a cleaning lady, Bettan, makes her an offer that would eventually change her life. Bettan convinces Dylan to replace her on the job that requires cleaning the studio where a Drag Queen Company rehearses daily.

Dylan is hesitant at first, but the performance of the lead choreographer, Victor, captivated her attention. She decides to give it a try for a week, in a hope to learn something from Victor. Little did she know, that fortunate turn of events will make her a drag queen too.

Cyrano de Bergerac narratives have been used in rom-coms quite extensively, but using it in a drag queen premise was extraordinary. Each character in the movie, be it Drag Queen Tommy, Dancer Victor or Dylan herself, struggles with their identities. The film themicatally explores the idea that art is gender-neutral. The audience should be interested in the art and not in the gender of the artist. The latter is just a gossip.

As stated, all the character graphs, thus, dealt with facing one’s real identity and accepting it without being regretful about it. For example, Dylan’s childhood friend Sebbe faced a similar crisis and gracefully met his closure in the end. The film released in “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month” subtly lauds the struggles and efforts of the individuals of the community.

Even with all its music, dance and drama, Dancing Queens fail to make a striking impact. At points, the plot is unbearably stretched without any required motive. The characters are unique, but often they fail to make a stand. For them, leaving the stage is a better option than facing an argument. It injects dullness in their actions. The Cyrano de Bergerac’s plot becomes its fatal defect. The plot becomes highly predictable and thus loses its touch. The film is also stuffed with repetitive information that only irritates the viewers rather than taking the story forward.

If one is looking for a casual dance drama, Dancing Queens will charm you with its unique premise and folk music. It might not be extraordinary, but it’s not entirely disappointing.

Read More – ‘Dancing Queens’ Ending, Explained

Dancing Queens is a 2021 musical drama film streaming on Netflix .

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Dancing Queen

Where to watch.

Rent Dancing Queen on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Aurora Gossé

Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson

Viljar Knutsen Bjaadal

Anne Marit Jacobsen

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Dancing queen.

Directed by Aurora Langaas Gossé

12-year-old Mina freaks out when famous hip-hop dancer ED Win moves to town and starts at her school. Mina falls in love and when ED announces he's forming a new dance group for a dance competition in town, Mina decides to audition. The only problem is that she can't dance.

Anders Baasmo Christiansen Andrea Bræin Hovig Cengiz Al Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson Viljar Knutsen Bjaadal Anne Marit Jacobsen Frida Ånnevik Mona Berntsen Sturla Puran Harbitz Ylva Røsten-Haga

Director Director

Aurora Langaas Gossé

Producers Producers

Thomas Robsahm Jessica Paine-Torsnes

Writer Writer

Silje Holtet

Casting Casting

Camilla Jerven Glaister

Editor Editor

Helge Billing

Cinematography Cinematography

Åsmund Hasli

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Vilde Ingskog

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Production design production design.

Ragnhild Juliane Sletta

Composer Composer

Mimmi Tamba

Sound Sound

Simon Nyqvist Adrian Souyris Strumse

Costume Design Costume Design

Sylvia Denais

Makeup Makeup

Ida Astero Welle

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22 feb 2023, 13 aug 2023, 04 aug 2023, 24 aug 2023, 25 aug 2023, 25 oct 2023, 29 may 2024, 07 jun 2024, 18 jul 2024, releases by country.

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Popular reviews

Review by Buddy O ★★½

Adelaide Film Festival #3

Sweet, little wholesome movie that instantly makes you think of Little Miss Sunshine. I love dancing and coming of age movies so this one was up my alley.

It doesn't do much different from similar films, if you love rooting for the underdog then Dancing Queen is your jam and it had some banger songs to boot!

I just had to remove a few points because It started off really fun and wholesome but I don't think it kept up the momentum throughout the whole flick.

Review by Morgan ★★★★½

Two Dancing Queen needle drops. Almost cried but simultaneously was grinning. Awesome movie. I tore my ballot at the 5 star line way before it ended.

Review by Silje ★★★

Colloseum med 400 barn i salen! Men ble faktisk rørt og søt film fra barna sitt perspektiv. Jeg dansa også hip hop på barneskolen og det var kult <3

Review by Matt Ashworth ★★★★★

My fave of the 11 SIFF films I’ve seen so far — Dancing Queen (Norway), which offers many of the familiar and joyful aspects of a coming of age film w/o painting characters into exact caricatures or stereotypes. Napoleon Dynamite meets Pitch Perfect meets John Hughes. 5 stars.

Review by ZaneAta ★★

I wanna beat up E.D. Win

Review by Eva ★½

note to self - don’t form a dance crew at your grandmas funeral

Review by Gople ★★★½

Begravelsen var helt SNÄLLA!!?

Men filmen var helt WOOPIE!

Review by Joathorsen ★★★½

Syzygy hvis syzygy var Eighth Grade (jeg har ikke sett Eighth Grade)

Review by shannon ★★★

cute but them doing a silly little dance at the grandmas funeral threw me off a little

Review by lilgoobus ★★★★

Very cute, sad, and funny. Great casting. I’m a slut for an independent film

Review by Emanuel H. Grevstad ★★★★ 4

Review by Ella ★★★★★

Angre ikke et sekund på at æ så den her🙌🏻🙌🏻Hamar did not disappoin!!

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Dancing Queens

Meryl Streep (center) shows off her terpsichorean abilities.

I saw the stage version of “Mamma Mia!” in London, where for all I know, it is now entering the second century of its run, and I was underwhelmed. The film version has the advantage of possessing Meryl Streep , Pierce Brosnan , Amanda Seyfried , Colin Firth and Julie Walters , but their assets are stretched fairly thin. And there are the wall-to-wall songs by ABBA, if you like that sort of thing. I don’t, not much, with a few exceptions.

But here’s the fact of the matter. This movie wasn’t made for me. It was made for the people who will love it, of which there may be a multitude. The stage musical has sold 30 million tickets, and I feel like the grouch at the party. So let me make that clear and proceed with my minority opinion.

The action is set on a Greek isle, where the characters are made to slide down rooftops, dangle from ladders, enter and exit by trapdoors and frolic among the colorful local folk. The choreography at times resembles calisthenics, particularly in a scene where the young male population, all wearing scuba flippers, dance on the pier to “Dancing Queen” (one of the ABBA songs I do like).

It would be charity to call the plot contrived. Meryl Streep plays Donna, who runs a tourist villa on the island, where she has raised her daughter Sophie (Seyfried) to the age of 20. Sophie, engaged to Sky ( Dominic Cooper ), has never known who her father is. But now she’s found an old diary and invited the three possible candidates to her forthcoming wedding. She’ll know the right one at first sight, she’s convinced. They are Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill ( Stellan Skarsgard ) and Harry (Colin Firth), and if you know the first thing about camera angles, shot choice and screen time, you will quickly be able to pick out the likely candidate — if not for sperm source, then for the one most likely to succeed in one way or another.

Streep’s character of course knows nothing of her daughter’s invitations, but even so, it must be said she takes a long time to figure out why these particular men were invited. Wouldn’t it be, like, obvious? She has earnest conversations with all three, two of whom seem to have been one-night stands; for them to drop everything and fly to Greece for her after 20 years speaks highly of her charms.

The plot is a clothesline on which to hang the songs; the movie doesn’t much sparkle when nobody is singing or dancing, but that’s rarely. The stars all seem to be singing their own songs, aided by an off-screen chorus of, oh, several dozen, plus full orchestration. Streep might seem to be an unlikely choice to play Donna, but you know what? She can play anybody. And she can survive even the singing of a song like “ Money, Money, Money .” She has such a merry smile and seems to be actually having a good time.

Her two best friends have flown in for the occasion: Tanya ( Christine Baranski ), an often-married plastic surgery subject, and Rosie (Julie Walters), plainer and pluckier. With three hunks their age like Brosnan, Firth and Skarsgard on hand, do they divvy up? Not exactly. But a lot of big romantic decisions do take place in just a few days.

The island is beautiful. Moviegoers will no doubt be booking vacations there. The energy is unflagging. The local color feels a little overlooked in the background; nobody seems to speak much Greek. And then there are the songs. You know them. You may feel you know them too well. Or maybe you can never get enough of them. Streep’s sunshine carries a lot of charm, although I will never be able to understand her final decision in the movie — not coming from such a sensible woman. Never mind. Love has its way.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Pierce Brosnan as Sam
• Colin Firth as Harry
• Amanda Seyfried as Sophie
• Christine Baranski as Tanya
• Julie Walters as Rosie
• Stellan Skarsgard as Bill
• Dominic Cooper as Sky
• Meryl Streep as Donna
• Catherine Johnson

Directed by

• Phyllida Lloyd

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Home » Streaming Service » Netflix

‘Dancing Queen’ (2018) | Netflix Original Series Review

Dancing Queen  shows RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Alyssa Edwards putting in the work at his competitive dance studio for young people.

It’s difficult to comprehend a show like Netflix’s Dancing Queen;  I feel torn and uneasy at the pressure put on children to perform. It becomes bizarrely uncomfortable with the parents, who seem more invested in the competition than their own child. Like  Dance Moms, this high-stakes reality culture for the young is the norm, but all it does is represent the growing pressure we put on our next generation. It cannot be healthy.

Once I elevated myself above the concerns, docuseries  Dancing Queen is profoundly entertaining. The concept embellishes the drama of it all, forcing the viewer to become stimulated by the next confrontation, mostly by a mother standing by ready to seeth at the studio leader. The dance studio is run by RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Alyssa Edwards , otherwise known as Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson.

Netflix’s Dancing Queen gives viewers an insight into the life of Alyssa Edwards. He is a dance studio teacher during the day and a famous drag queen at night. His transformation is compelling and uniquely impressive. I obviously have no way of relating but I could only appreciate the effort it must take to portray two sides of your personality at a magnified level.  Dancing Queen  shows Alyssa as a respected teacher at the dancing studio, giving his students motivational quips and admiring their skills, and at night, Alyssa is applauded by his audiences as he becomes the full drag.

As expressed earlier in this review,  Dancing Queen  partakes in the pressure-cooker culture laid onto our children, however, Alyssa Edwards provides a different take in the Netflix documentary series. There are determining moments where a young performer looks downbeat and strained by the experiences brought on by the dance studio, but Alyssa always reminds them they are good and chances will come. There are lessons to be learnt in  Dancing Queen  and the main message is that failure is fine, as long as you do not give up; Alyssa Edwards respects performing arts as long as there is an effort, the series makes that clear.

The core motive of Netflix’s Dancing Queen  is to show the journey between Alyssa Edwards and his studio, amalgamating an elite dance group that can become champions. The drama comes but then it is repeatedly cooled by Alyssa’s nightlife, where he transforms, entertains and on one occasion, weds a gay couple at a dazzling wedding. This is really Alyssa Edwards’ show more than the young performers but that cannot be helped with the utmost respected directed at him.

Dancing Queen is wildly entertaining and although you won’t learn anything new, the energy that shines through will immerse you into a competitive world of dance studios.

Article by Daniel Hart

Daniel is the co-founder of Ready Steady Cut and has served as Editor-in-Chief since 2017. Since then, Dan has been at the top of his game by ensuring that we only produce and upload content of exceptional quality and that we’re up to date with the latest additions to the streaming and entertainment world.

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Is Netflix’s Dancing Queens Based on a True Story?

Netflix’s Swedish comedy-drama ‘Dancing Queens’ dives into Queer culture and explores gender fluidity through a glitzy, heartwarming lens. The movie’s protagonist, Dylan, finds an unlikely outlet for her innate dancing talents when she gets the chance to be a part of a famous, albeit aging, drag act in the city. To blend in, however, she must pretend to be a man, who must then pretend to be a woman for the drag performance.

The ruse, though daunting, opens up a new world for Dylan, who in turn breathes new life into the once-famous, now irrelevant drag performance. The film gives us interesting, albeit brief, insights into the nuances of drag culture and stardom, references which Dylan also uses to convince her troupe that she is one of them. Let’s take a look at whether this movie is based on a true story.

Is Dancing Queens Based on a True Story?

No, ‘Dancing Queens’ is not based on a true story. The film’s portrayal of an aging drag queen, his frustrated troupe, and their young choreographer’s attempts to revive them rings true with its accurate pop-cultural references, like the “dated” song “I Will Survive,” which is a point of contention between the old guard and the new. Most significantly, the movie features the famous Swedish drag artist Robert Fux, who commends the Queens on their performance. However, behind these convincing touches of realism is a fictional story co-written by the film’s director Helena Bergström and Denize Karabuda.

Helena doesn’t believe in the air-tight compartmentalization of people’s identities, which is what first inspired her to make a story about transgender identities. She wanted to explore the lifestyle through a lens of empathy and understanding in a way that made transgender culture accessible to a wide range of audiences. Additionally, her message of embracing one’s identity is delivered through Dylan’s story, wherein she initially tries to change her identity but ultimately finds success when she is unapologetically herself.

The exploration of drag culture is one of the major story arcs of the movie, with the cis-gendered female protagonist attempting to disguise her way into the drag dance performance. Hence, both the audience and the protagonist learn about the nuances of the lifestyle choice simultaneously. The authenticity of Dylan’s performance was further bolstered by Molly Nutley, the actress essaying Dylan, also being new to drag culture and subsequently learning about it during filming. Hence, even before it was finished, the film was already achieving its goal of educating people about drag.

Actors Claes Malmberg, who plays the aging drag queen Tommy, and Razmus Nyström, who essays Sacha, also brought to the roles their own past experiences with portraying queer characters. The former attributed his initial knowledge of drag culture to the famous Swedish drag act named After Dark, inspired by the Stockholm nightclub it premiered at. The cast also listened to lectures to familiarize themselves with drag culture, which each of them described as deep, intricate, and vast in scope.

Helena attributed the feel-good nature of the movie to her aim of making it as accessible as possible, going so far as to call it a “love bomb” for all humans. She pointed out the scene where Tommy, upon the discovery that Dylan is a woman, can’t understand what all the fuss is about and keeps saying that they’re all women anyway. For Helena, this scene is one of the most important and encompasses the film’s theme of acceptance and empathy. Everyone, in the end, is human, she said.

‘Dancing Queens’ makes the clever use of modern-day drag icon Robert Fux and various real venues like the Grand Theatre, known as the Stora Teatern, in Gothenburg to give viewers the feeling that they are watching a true story. To its credit, the film delivers a message of universal truth through a fictional story and aims to simplify a complex lifestyle choice to make it more accessible and acceptable to audiences.

Read More: Best LGBTQ Movies on Netflix

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'dancing queen': alyssa edwards doesn't let dance moms drag her down.

Glen Weldon

A big bird and her chicks: Alyssa Edwards teaches dance in Mesquite, Texas, in the reality series Dancing Queen . Jake Giles Netter/Netflix hide caption

A big bird and her chicks: Alyssa Edwards teaches dance in Mesquite, Texas, in the reality series Dancing Queen .

Alyssa Edwards ( née Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson) is a lot .

She has to be; she's a drag queen. Being a lot comes with the lace-front wig. A drag queen who isn't a lot is no drag queen at all; she's food without flavor, art without color, Cher without Auto-tune. It's the difference, more specifically, between a fierce and fabulous queen like RuPaul and that one jock in high school who slapped on a Halloween store wig and stuffed himself into his girlfriend's cheerleading outfit for school spirit day.

Because drag is not the wig, the dress or the makeup. Drag is performance. It's commitment .

Alyssa competed, and committed, in Season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race , where she distinguished herself by the force of her personality, her languid, Southern-fried vowels ("BaAAAack rollllllls?") and her dancing. She joined the pantheon of Drag Race royalty a few years later when she returned for All-Stars 2 , got eliminated, came back, became 50% of the single greatest Lip-Sync For Your Life performance in the show's history , and later got eliminated again.

She's had a Web series, she tours the world, she's released a single (and if you thought a reality show about her wouldn't prominently feature said single, your pop culture literacy could use a refresher), and a couple weeks back she got a shoutout on Final Jeopardy .

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She's a lot . The Netflix reality series Dancing Queen , which follows Alyssa/Justin through her/his offstage life running a dance studio in Mesquite, Texas, is at its best when it's illuminating precisely how all of [waves arm in a big circle] that manages to fit into a relatively prosaic suburban existence.

Throughout the 8-episode season, whenever we're watching Justin go about his days, we keep wondering, and occasionally worrying, about how his arched eyebrows, his bedazzled, rainbow-colored couture and his general baseline fabulousness will be received by the denizens of Mesquite. (To underscore this tension, the producers eagerly play into viewers' preconceived notions about that particular part of the country, if the sheer number of glamour shots of cows, abandoned BBQ joints, old windmills and backlit Texas flags is anything to go by.)

Happily enough, though, the locals love the guy. Which makes sense — it's his hometown, and he's plugged into a support system that we get to see from several angles. When he buys a house in the suburbs, for example, his real estate agents throw out a few "YAAAAS queen!"s in the process. We meet his friends, which include the gay couple who design his gowns. He and fellow queen Laganja Estranja stop by the local wig store; the employees chuckle lovingly as the two stomp up and down the runway (its aisles).

Those who believe drag is all about drama may be surprised by how interesting it turns out to be to watch a queen out of the wig, out of makeup, out of the gown, just tending to life stuff that's inherently drama-free. He goes on a subpar date with a shy guy! He throws parties in his gated community! He worries about making too much noise for the neighbors! He gets mad at Party City when some balloons arrive deflated!

The show also throws in a few stock gambits to tug at the heartstrings: He stops by the house where he grew up and visits his mother's grave, because this is a reality show, and there are rules. There are tearful reunions with estranged family members; see above.

And there are, of course, naked attempts to appeal to fans of RuPaul's Drag Race (each episode features a brief, highly produced music video segment in which Alyssa lip-syncs in her inimitable style).

'Flats Are For Quitters': RuPaul Talks Drag, 'All Stars' And Identity Politics

We get confessionals, in which either Alyssa or Justin address the camera to comment on the events we're watching unfold. There's an attempt, in early episodes, to set up a kind of split-personality dynamic whereby Alyssa remonstrates Justin for not being fierce and fabulous enough — Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii -de, as it were — but that thread gets dropped, sadly.

Everything I've described above, like Alyssa herself, is a lot . The problem is, all of [waves arm in wide circle] that ? Is only half the show.

The other half is, essentially, Dance Moms .

Tongue-pops and tiaras

On paper it makes sense. If we're following Justin through his day to see how he navigates the real world, we need to see him at his day job, right?

Right — but when said day job involves coaching toddlers, tweens and teens through group numbers and solos, pruning the rosters down to "elite" teams for competition, and putting up with an unceasing stream of complaints and protestations from a disgruntled fleet of Sikorsky-helicopter moms ... well.

Look, the kids are cute, and they seem to love dancing and Justin. For fans of shows like Dance Moms and Toddlers and Tiaras , that'll probably be enough. But for the dancing half of the show to work as it's intended to — for it to truly inform and enrich our understanding of Justin and his work — we'd need to get a clearer sense of either the transformative joy that drives these kids or a more technical understanding of their dancing's aesthetics. What we get instead are moms huffing about Justin's favoritism and unremarkable, un-remarked-upon footage of various dance competitions. Alyssa and Justin both talk about their love of "snatchin' them trophies," and that turns out to be the show's narrow, singular focus as well. No real effort is expended in elucidating how and why any given dancer excels or fails; we're merely told that they do. Without that technical grounding, the judges' decisions, when they come, feel mysterious and completely untethered to anything we've seen onscreen.

While there's considerable fun to be had in watching Alyssa bask in the spotlight of her confessionals — she positively luxuriates in them and cannot seem to stop posing, even for a minute — Justin's addresses to the camera prove less compelling. This is because they're usually tied to his role as dance coach, and thus consist of empty Successory-poster platitudes like "Teamwork makes the dream work," which is to this show what "Winter is coming" is to Game of Thrones.

Alyssa is a star, and Justin seems to prize and truly appreciate his status as a role model. He tells us, often, that his life is a "dream come true," and you have to be happy that he's found his calling. But in the end, Dancing Queen doesn't do enough to bring us along with him. And that's a drag.

Dancing Queens Movie Ending Explained – Do these queens dance to success?

Dancing Queens Plot Synopsis

Dancing Queens centers on 23 year old Dylan Pettersson. After the passing of her Mother, Dylan finds herself caught up between teaching kids how to dance and helping her Father with deliveries.

Living life on a small island in the Swedish archipelago, Dylan receives a lifeline in the form of a cleaning gig, working at a struggling drag club called Queens.

With choreographer and star dancer Victor’s help, Dylan’s talent is fully realized when he encourages her to become part of the show – and dress up in drag.

Why does Dylan get kicked out the club?

After a long bout of slow-burn drama, Dancing Queens finally sees our fabulous queens together performing on stage. The show is a hit. While congratulating themselves for a job well-done, they head backstage and soak in the glory. Until Sebbe shows up.

Sebbe soon blows the lid off Dylan’s identity, which causes tensions to arise between the different performers – and in particular Micke. When he finds out Dylan is a woman – and that Victor was in on this – things get seriously heated. In fact, Dylan eventually ends up walking out and heading back home.

There, Dylan thinks back over memories of her Mother, wondering if she’ll ever fully realize her dreams and make her proud.

What happened to Dylan’s Mother?

In the past, Dylan’s grandmother used to take her Mother out dancing four times a week. She would go to town just so she could realize her dreams.

Everything changed though when she fell pregnant with Dylan all those years later. In fact, Dylan claims this “ruined everything” for her Mother. Of course, the joys of parenthood shined through. Anyway, she channeled everything she knew into Dylan, encouraging the girl to pick up the mantle and continuing dancing in her stead.

It’s a raw memory that still hits home, especially given her Mother’s passing before this could be fully realized. Dylan’s music studio, “Dylan’s Disco” is an homage and an ode to her Mother.

Dylan’s motivation stems from a desire to make her Mother proud as much as it is for her own career aspirations.

How does Dancing Queens end?

Sebbe plucks up the courage to come out to his parents. Only, his Mother already knew, much to the dumbfounded confusion of his Father. When Sebbe quizzes why she kept quiet, she simply smiles and tells him it’s his job to come out to them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the drag club members all team up together and get the ferry across to Dylan’s hometown. They surprise her and admit they don’t care about her gender – they just want her back to perform. They also have another surprise up their sleeve.

They’ve all come together and arranged for Dylan to attend an important audition for a theatre show. Victor’s influence is what’s bagged this opportunity, with Dylan taking center stage with him for the dance of her life.

Thanks to her perseverance and passion for dancing, Dylan manages to juggle performing at Queens with striving toward her dreams of becoming a big hit on stage. Dancing no longer hurts for her either, having found peace with her Mother’s passing and ready to excel.

Interestingly, this makes the title of the movie a double entendre. Not only is Dylan “dancing Queens” by working as a drag act, she’s also part of this collective group of Queens, who have found joy and solace in dancing together.

The final shot of a tranquil sunset and the calm water (water being synonymous with emotion) help to reinforce these messages of acceptance and following your dreams.

Read M ore: Dancing Queens Movie Review

Thanks for reading our Ending Explained article! What did you think of Dancing Queens’ ending? Were you happy with the final resolution for Dylan’s character? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Dancing Queen

A husband finds himself accidentally running for Mayor of Seoul and his wife decides to become a k-pop singer A husband finds himself accidentally running for Mayor of Seoul and his wife decides to become a k-pop singer A husband finds himself accidentally running for Mayor of Seoul and his wife decides to become a k-pop singer

• Seok-hoon Lee
• Ma Dong-seok
• 4 User reviews
• 7 Critic reviews
• 1 win & 13 nominations

Top cast 10

• Superstar K Judge
• (as Hyo-ri Lee)

• Ramyun in package
• (as Jung-min Park)

• Jeong-min Hwang
• (as Jeong-min Hwang)

• Jeong-hwa Eom
• (as Jeong-hwa Eom)
• Jung-Min's friend
• (as Kwang-Hyeon Kim)

• Broadcasting station staff 2
• (as Jun Yeon)

• Jung-Min's mom
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User reviews 4

• paul_haakonsen
• Jul 21, 2019
• February 3, 2012 (United States)
• South Korea
• Official site (South Korea)
• Nữ Hoàng Khiêu Vũ
• CJ Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $26,411,266

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 4 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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