Charming but too quaint

“Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dance and Charm School” is an overly sentimental, bittersweet look at lost souls trying to recapture a little bit of joy through dancing.

Movie- goers expecting to see steamy routines a la “Dancing with the Stars,” however, are likely to be disappointed.

Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle, from “The Full Monty”) is a baker mourning the suicide of his wife. A chance encounter on the highway with dying crash victim Steve Mills (John Goodman) sets the story in motion. Frank promises to keep a long-standing appointment with Steve’s childhood crush at the dance school. She isn’t there, but he finds a new lease on life doing the Lindy Hop with Miss Marienne Hotchkiss (Mary Steenburgen), the very stylized dance mistress.

At his group-therapy session, Frank shares how this experience has suddenly given him the will to move on. He donates his wife’s clothes, buys some new suits and finds himself at the dance studio every Thursday evening.

Frank falls in love with fellow student Meredith (Marisa Tomei), whose overprotective stepbrother (Donnie Wahlberg) warns him to stay away.

Director Randall Miller, who based this feature on his 1990 short film, has assembled a lot of great talent, but he tries to do too much. With dialogue as quaint and flowery as Miss Hotchkiss’ gowns, it’s sometimes just plain silly.

Carlyle and Tomei are quietly effective, and Goodman milks his death scenes for all he’s worth.

But it’s Donnie Wahlberg’s Randall Ipswitch who steals the show. Strutting about in a skin-tight shirt like a poor man’s Antonio Banderas, he manages to be both comical and poignant.