‘Dancing’ tripped up by dialogue

It is unfortunate when someone with a history of staging musical numbers and directing musical sequences can’t make dialogue scenes flow.

Such is the unfortunate dilemma that “Love N’ Dancing” finds itself in under Robert Iscove, whose resume includes choreographing the film “Jesus Christ Superstar” but also directing “From Justin to Kelly.”

In other ways this swing-dancing romance emits an appealingly tender hum about the flush that comes when connecting with a new dance partner.

But apart from the sweetly corny vibe coming from Amy Smart’s teacher-stuck-in-a-bad-relationship and writer-star Tom Malloy’s hearing-impaired, broken-hearted dance teacher -- both of them accomplished at the quick-draw smile -- this is pretty unremarkable stuff that has little to excite outside of its nicely done twirl-and-dip sections, choreographed here by West Coast swing dancing guru Robert Royston.

The story’s deaf angle is mildly interesting, especially the nifty idea that Billy Zane’s jerky, workaholic fiancee acts as Malloy’s character’s literal opposite: using a Bluetooth like an anti-hearing aid (he just won’t listen!).

But with by-the-numbers characters and a woefully predictable script, you’ll mostly be tapping your feet as a waiting measure for the next time “Love N’ Dancing” needs two people to step out on the floor.

--

Robert Abele

--

“Love N’ Dancing.” MPAA rating: PG-13 for some sexual references. Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes. In general re-lease.

--

‘Mountain’ a gripping tale

Like her terrific “In Between Days,” a soulful first feature about the growing pains of a college-age immigrant to the United States, Korean American director So Yong Kim’s second film, “Treeless Mountain,” blends autobiography with fiction to probe an earlier, more devastating coming of age. Kim’s camera binds us gently but tightly within the shattered world of two little Korean sisters, Jin and Bin, whose mother leaves them to try to reconcile with the feckless husband who abandoned her.

Left to the mercies of an intermittently drunk aunt (the excellent Mi Hyang Kim), the sisters cling to the half-truths with which they’ve been fobbed off, each imaginatively reinventing them in order to survive until their unassuming grandmother (played by a woman found in a rural farmer’s market) restores form and function to their lives.

Kim is deft and sensitive with her tiny co-stars, but “Treeless Mountain” lacks the freshness and surprise of “In Between Days,” and it’s hard not to feel emotionally hijacked by the well-worn iconography of pathos -- a piggy bank clutched in tiny hands, a princess dress worn daily no matter how filthy it gets -- with which this gifted writer-director lards her undeniably wrenching tale.

--

Ella Taylor --

“Treeless Mountain.” MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes. At Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.

--

Daring ‘Dreams’ of 5 female artists

The five female artists profiled in Chiara Clemente’s absorbing documentary “Our City Dreams” outwardly seem connected by little more than their gender, profession and adopted city of New York.

Despite their differences, these talented women cumulatively form a satisfying snapshot of the distaff art world that’s unfussily captured by Clemente’s clearly admiring camera.

The film’s intriguing subjects, individually featured in kinetic, 15-minute segments, come off as unusually well-adjusted, with an inspiring passion for their chosen field.

Though Clemente focuses more on the artists’ output -- including their work-related trips to such far-flung spots as Italy, Thailand and Egypt -- than on any profound dissection of their psyches, these women’s consistent satisfaction with following the path less taken speaks vol- umes.

The eclectic quintet -- younger street sensation Swoon, Cairo-born Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith (purveyor of “middle-aged women art”), Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic and 80ish veteran Nancy Spero -- work in a range of distinctive styles and mediums that often stirringly push the boundaries of feminine expression. Their art, like the film itself, is powerful, daring and makes you think.

--

Gary Goldstein --

“Our City Dreams.” MPAA rating: Unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes. At Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.