Although wonderfully choreographed and performed, the “Bojangles of Harlem” number in Swing Time is considered culturally insensitive if not outright racist these days, and you’d probably never see it on prime time TV.

I’m hard pressed to see much difference between this and whatever Miley Cyrus was trying to do at the VMAs on Sunday. Actually, there’s a tremendous difference — the talent of the performer and the execution of the number.

Does it really just come down to shoe polish?