edwagreen A real shame that Paramount Films discarded this film during its 1991 release. It is excellent and sports worthy performances by Liza Minnelli, a lady who leads a group of people who are unsure about themselves to a dancing class. Then, their opportunity strikes-they are asked to perform for a Children's Benefit Performance. It is at this time that all their personal problems become known.As stated the supporting performances are terrific. Jane Krakowski lights up the screen in her scene when she tells Minnelli that she sees her first patient die and the horrible comment made by a doctor that we needed the bed anyway.Bill Irwin is refreshing as the only guy in the ensemble whose wife left him. A loner and quiet man, he seeks solace in the dance group. Julie Walters is absolutely hysterical as the British lady, a cleanliness nut, who hides her tale of woe as well. Even Minnelli has her own story to tell. It's as if the dance floor provides an outlet for these people.Of course, we have a frumpy,but energetic Shelley Winters at the piano. After all, she was the only one to answer Minnelli's request for a piano player. Temperamental, she reminds Minnelli that between social security and her pension, she doesn't need this.All comes together in a fabulous ending-dance routine. You'll want to get up and cheer for the cast. This picture needed much more notoriety, it deserved it. It's really a winner.

rpvanderlinden I wanted to like "Stepping Out" for its heart and to cheer for the underdogs in the story, members of a Buffalo, N.Y. tap-dancing class who are catapulted onto the stage as part of a big charity event, along with other acts featuring professional dancers. A cursory search reveals that the original play was a hit in London's West End, but a flop on Broadway. The original took place in London. This kind of film has been done before, usually in a sports setting, in films such as the superb "Hoosiers" and "Breaking Away".I'd watch Liza Minnelli in anything, but she doesn't convince me that she's a washed-up Broadway hoofer giving tap classes in a rundown church hall and, with her voice and charisma, a blue-collar bar crooner performing sets with her guitar-playing boy friend. Anyway, niggling aside, here she is, so she's given a couple of musical numbers, one a solo spot in the empty church hall with the stained-glass windows ablaze with colour and a spotlight shining down on her from above. There are two films here. One is a Liza Minnelli showcase. The other is the underdog story: a group of amateur dancers with two left feet get their big chance to strut their stuff, and in the process, learn something about themselves. The problem, for me, is that everyone's a "type". There's Ms. Obssessive Compulsive who will prove that she's just folks, after all; there's Mr. Clumsy Nerd, the only male in the class, picked on by the women, who will finally prove that he's a man; there's Ms. Mouse, and so on. Liza, I must say, is game in this ensemble cast. There's a scene stealer at work, here, and that's Shelley Winters, who is both hilarious and touching as the group's long-suffering piano-player. The long-awaited Big Night performance by the troupe itself is fun and strikes the right balance between being quite good and endearingly goofy.

movibuf1962 I loved "Stepping Out." If you chose not to, you're more than entitled (as people who hate so much around these websites are wont to say), but for God's sakes, get the facts right. The company of dancers in question does not "put on a show" in this movie. That's something that star Liza Minnelli's mother did in films over sixty-seven years ago. (Gosh, people's obvious prejudices against musical films is so sadly obvious here.) The company of working class, small community tappers PARTICIPATE in a benefit show already established by a haughty committee muckety-muck who makes her bias against Mavis Turner's awkward, beginning dance class painfully apparent. And there's your heartbeat of this very small, unassuming film. Shot on Canadian locations disguised to simulate upstate New York, STO is actually more in tune with the plot of A CHORUS LINE than any Mickey-Judy film. The obvious difference is that the dancers are not professional. They tap in a church hall after hours, after their regular jobs and family matters. It's their single emotional release, and the thing that makes them feel like kings. And while the film does not literally delve into the life of each dancer individually, it paints enough of an ensemble portrait to make you realize that these folks support each other, lean on each other, and love one another unconditionally, almost like a second family. I suppose the sentimental nature of that premise is too much for a lot of modern cynics to take, but there it is. Minnelli's plucky Mavis is the only real professional amongst them; she almost became a star, but didn't quite make it. Minnelli, in fact, has one lovely, CHORUS LINE-like moment in the film where she dances a solo to the title number (spotlight, mirrors, and all), then has to explain to a single eavesdropper how she briefly touched dance stardom before quietly, somewhat brokenly, retiring to Buffalo. But she truly believes in her dancers and is the perfect cheerleader and counselor to them in the end. And there is a fine, somewhat surprising epilogue which formally shows off the dance family- wonderfully represented by Ellen Greene, Andrea Martin, Bill Irwin, Julie Walters, Carol Woods, Jane Krakowski, Sheila McCarthy, and Robyn Stevan. It truly is a feel-good movie. In fact, it's a feel terrific movie.

AndrewPhillips This is a gentle feel good film. There are some great performances especially Julie Walters who manages to keep us laughing through the film, then when you least expect it pulls at our heart strings with a very moving scene talking about her daughter.Liza Minnelli is engaging in the lead role, though this is another one of those films that does not rely on the central performance. The late Shelly Winters is great as the grumpy piano player.The class provides each of the group with something that their lives are missing and the story of these people is handled well by the director. The final stage number is in the tradition of an old Hollywood musical, all glitz and glamour and it works well.I remember at the time the film was not well received, which is a shame. It will I am sure stand the test of time and rank as one of Liza Minnelli's better outings on film.