How She Move (2007)

User Rating:

2.5/10   

Director:

Ian Iqbal Rashid

Writer:

Annmarie Morais (written by)

Release Date:

25 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Set your dreams in motion.

Plot:

Following her sister's death from drug addiction, a high school student is forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing. |

Plot Keywords:

Step Dancing | Dance | African American | Stepping | Dance Contest

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Tre Armstrong	...	Michelle (as Tré Armstrong)
Boyd Banks	...	Mike Evans
Clé Bennett	...	Garvey
Ardon Bess	...	Uncle Cecil
Conrad Coates	...	David Green
Keyshia Cole	...	Herself
Eve Crawford	...	Seaton Teacher
DeRay Davis	...	Himself
Shawn Fernandez	...	Trey (as Shawn Desman)
Nina Dobrev	...	Tall Girl in Bathroom
Kevin Duhaney	...	E.C.
Brennan Gademans	...	Quake
Ingrid Gaynor	...	Pam Green
Balford Gordon	...	Neighbourhood Guy
Patrick Hayes	...	Customer

Also Known As:

Bouge de là! (Canada: French title)
Step (Canada: English title) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some drug content, suggestive material and language.

Runtime:

USA:94 min | Argentina:94 min

Country:

Canada | USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Canada:PG | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Sienna Films

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final dance scene, the windows in the car disappear and reappear during shots.

Quotes:

Raya Green: It's funny, isn't it? How one moment can change a million after it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ellen Page/Wilco (#33.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

My Boots

Genre film made OK by good dance moves and an engaging turn from Wesley

You know what? I'm staying off the message boards on this one because I'm not looking to get into the debate over why this film is so poorly rated on IMDb. It does confuse me to hear those classing it "worst film ever" discussing it as generic and bland, nothing but a version of countless other films – so why, if it is so bland and generic is it in the IMDb bottom 100 at the time of writing? I'll let others say "racism" because I don't think it is that – although I do think that it is perhaps a cultural thing. I've never really understood the whole idea of "krunking" or "stepping" or whatever it is called (whenever us white people know a slang word it immediately changes!) and would struggle not to feel silly if I was to do it. However I do love the b-boy stuff and breaking and there is a fine line between them.

Why this culture of impressive dance moves and physical discipline is mocked by the mainstream while cheerleading is seen as an All-American experience I'm not sure – again I'll leave it to the boards to debate whether it is racism or just a cultural thing but it is odd that this film is rather lower than things similar. I say this because I do not see a massively poor film – and trust me, I have seen some massively poor films in my time and I do not see how IMDb users can rate this lower than the significantly worse "You Got Served". Now don't get me wrong because I'm not building myself up to a gushing review full of praise, because this film is not brilliant – it is just not anywhere near as bad as people say, in fact it is OK.

The plot is fairly straightforward and generic but it benefits from having a lead character that I cared about in Raya. Her situation is obvious and I won't defend the sweep of the film because it does tread a genre path but it is made better by several things. First and foremost the dance routines are very good. They are not the hyper-edited promo pieces of You Got Served but are presented in small clubs, bare stages and with a clean approach from camera that allows us to see what is happening. I'm not sure why they cannot be appreciated for what they are but I really enjoyed them and found myself exclaiming "wow" involuntarily several times towards the end. OK visually the rest of the film is quite basic, this comes with the budget and it is not "ugly" so much as it is more television standard than cinema.

The second selling point is Wesley's turn as Raya. Here we have an actress and a character who is not really the best choice if you are making a genre film. She is smart, doesn't talk street and, to be frank, is very dark skinned. Put it another way – she is not the person I would want to be marketing the film off the back of. However what she can do is emote convincingly and I found her acting chops to be just as good as her moves (which are good). She is charismatic and engaging and she covers for the many clichés surrounding her. Armstrong isn't as good nor did I need Davis and Cole turning up as themselves but these are the type of things that make the film "OK" rather than good.

How She Move is not Citizen Kane but it is not the worst film ever made either. Yes it is a genre film and it is weaker than I would like in regards plot and writing but it is still an OK film. The dance moves are impressive and well delivered and Wesley emotes well in delivering a believable and sympathetic character, which made all the difference to me.