The Forbidden Dance

Infobox Film
name = The Forbidden Dance

---

image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Greydon Clark
producer =
writer = Roy Langsdon John Platt
narrator =
starring = Laura Harring
Jeff James
Angela Moya
Sid Haig
Shannon Farnon
Linden Chiles
Pilar Del Rey
Ruben Moreno
Barbra Brighton
Richard Lynch
Kid Creole
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = 1990-03-16
runtime = 97
country = United States
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0099595Infobox movie certificates
Australia = M
Finland = S
Iceland = L
Philippines = PG-13
United_Kingdom = 15
United_States = PG-13

"The Forbidden Dance" (also released as "The Forbidden Dance is Lambada") is a 1990 movie starring former Miss USA Laura Harring.

The film was written, produced, and released very quickly in order to cash in on what some thought was a Lambada dance craze. The script was commissioned in December 1989, written in ten days, and filming began within a month. The film also featured the song "Lambada", performed by the group Kaoma, which helped spread the Lambada craze the previous year. It was released on 16 March 1990, the same day as rival film "Lambada" – whose producers sued to keep the word "Lambada" out of the title.

The film was panned by critics, and received little attention in the theatres. "The Forbidden Dance" is B-movie drab, and its dance sequences are barely sexier than a bowling tournament," [cite news|title=And Now on the Screen: Lambada!|publisher=The New York Times|first=Jon|last=Pareles|date=1990-03-18|accessdate=2007-04-08|url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?_r=1&title1=&title2=LAMBADA%20%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=JON%20PARELES&v_id=18159&pdate=19900318] said one critic. "Heavy-handed and somewhat mean-spirited, "The Forbidden Dance" is a slapdash message movie, about as subtle as a clog dance," said another. [cite news|title=‘Lambada’ (PG-13) and ‘The Forbidden Dance’ (PG-13)|publisher=The Washington Post|last=Kempley|first=Rita|date=1990-03-17|accessdate=2007-04-08|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/lambadapg13andtheforbiddendancepg13kempley_a0a000.htm]

Generally, "The Forbidden Dance" is considered the weaker of the two movies, though both were not very well received.

ynopsis

Nisa (Laura Harring) is the princess of a Brazilian tribe who comes to Los Angeles to stop an American corporation from destroying her rainforest home. With her is tribal shaman Joa (Sid Haig), who uses black magic to get past the company guards and see the chairman of the corporation, resulting in his arrest.

Left to fend for herself in L.A alone, Nisa, with the help of Carmen (Angela Moya), finds work in a Beverly Hills mansion as the servant of an an uptight couple whose son, Jason (Jeff James), lives only to dance. After spying on Nisa as she dances provocatively in her bedroom, Jason takes her out to a club. She is rejected by Jason's friends, and he is berated by his parents for dating the help.

Nisa runs away and gets a job at Xtasy, a sleazy dance joint/brothel, as a dance partner for male customers. Jason visits the club with his friends, but Nisa rebuffs him. He becomes morose, turns away from his buddies and girlfriend Ashley (Barbra Brighton) and returns to Xtasy to try to take Nisa out of the place. A bouncer beats up the would-be rescuer and prepares to deflower Nisa, but fortunately Joa walks in and magically stuns the attacker, which clears the place.

The shaman then heads back to the tribe, while Nisa and Jason, now in love, prepare for a dance contest, hoping to speak out about the plight of the rainforest when they are showcased on TV.

They win the contest, but the corporation's head stooge, Benjamin Maxwell (Richard Lynch), kidnaps Nisa afterwards. Jason finds them and helps Nisa to escape, but twists his ankle, ruining their chances of performing on the TV show.

Luckily, Joa shows up backstage, heals Jason's wound, and the dance goes ahead as planned. The crowd loves them, they start a boycott against the destruction of the rainforest, and everyone gets into the lambada.

Cast

*Laura Harring - Nisa
*Jeff James - Jason Anderson
*Angela Moya - Carmen
*Sid Haig - Joa
*Shannon Farnon - Katherine Anderson
*Linden Chiles - Bradley Anderson
*Pilar Del Rey - Queen
*Ruben Moreno - King
*Barbra Brighton - Ashley
*Richard Lynch - Benjamin Maxwell
*Miranda Garrison - Mickey
*Tom Alexander - Kurt
*Connie Woods - Trish
*Steven Williams - Weed (as Steven Lloyd Williams)
*Remy O'Neil - Robin
*Charles Meshack - Eddie
*Sabrina Mance - Cami
*Kenny Johnson - Dave
*Adriana Kaegi - Herself
*Kid Creole - Himself
*Taryn Hagey - Herself
*Greg Niebel - Jail Cop # 1
*Janique Svedberg - Herself
*Kenny Scott Carrie - Jail Cop # 2

oundtrack

*Chorando Se Foi (Lambada) - Kaoma
*Lambada A La Creole - Kid Creole and the Coconuts Featuring Cory Daye
*Automatic - Kid Creole and the Coconuts
*It's A Horror - Kid Creole and The Coconuts
*You And Me Alone - Mendy Lee
*Lambada: The Forbidden Dance - José Feliciano
*Always You - Joyce Kennedy
*Limba Limba Lambada - Reginaldo Pi
*Capoeira - The Dream Machine
*BH Disco - Bob Midoff
*Good Girls Like Bad Boys - Victor Merino
*Hand To Hold You Over - Mara Getz
*Last Lover - Gene Evaro
*Reaction To Passion - Gene Evaro
*It's Never Too Late - Jeff Harper
*Stop Look Listen And Think - Exposé

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0099595|name=The Forbidden Dance
* [http://www.greydonclark.com/ Greydon Clark's Official Website]