Smallpox has been eliminated from the planet — so why can’t our finest minds seem to be able to do anything about Irish step dancing?
The documentary “Jig” bids to be to stiff-upper-body dancing what the documentary “Spellbound” was to spelling bees. We meet youths, and their parents, from Long Island, Northern Ireland, England and elsewhere as they train for the 2010 world championships in Scotland.
Though one teacher, an eight-time champion named John Carey, is charismatic, encouraging and exacting, he is the only character who makes a deep impression. The kids and parents all seem quite nice, and all are admirably dedicated to their passion. The movie doesn’t go very deep, though. Interviewers prove unable to elicit anything much from their subjects but basic biographical information and bromides about how they love what they do and how badly they want to win.
Moreover, the untrained observer can’t even tell who is better than whom. And there’s no way to put this gently: Watching people slam their heels and toes on the boards while drifting around the floor is about as fascinating as watching the carousel rotation in your favorite microwave oven.