HOW SHE MOVE

Ian Iqbal Rashid Written by: Annmarie Morais Starring: Tre Armstrong,Rutina Wesley, and Dwain Murphy Released by Paramount Vantage Available at Amazon for $21.99 from April 29th 2008. Not yet available at Play. Sorry, Brits! Review by Ray DeRousse Film:

rating:2

DVD:

rating:2

THE FILM I live in St. Louis, which has been labelled "America's Most Violent City" in recent years. Instead of resorting to step dancing to solve our problems, we prefer to steal, kill, and rape everything of value that moves. A deep racial divide still exists here. Perhaps that best explains why I am so bewildered and unfamiliar with the whole step dancing phenomenon that has infiltrated the movies recently. Let me get this straight: step dancing involves people dancing at each other to make a point, wildly flailing their limbs in order to get "respect," right? Ugh ... whatever. The newest entry in this unholy genre, which descends like a retarded step-child from the family tree of eighties breakdancing movies, is the "inspirational" How She Move. The film chronicles the desperate struggle of Raya to escape her go-nowhere ghetto lifestyle and make something of herself. Raya's mother (or is it mutha?) wants her to use her vast intelligence in pursuit of a doctorate in medicine. However, Raya's hood-rat friends want her to unleash the step dancing beast within, and conquer the big step dancing competition in Detroit. Wanna guess what happens? The script is pure paint-by-numbers, simply a longer and (slightly) more detailed version of Michael Jackson's "Bad" video. However, the razor-thin characters are given ample life by the appealing cast of unknowns. Rutina Wesleymanages to convey a lot of empathy and warmth as Raya. As Raya's best friend and rival Michelle, Tre Armstrong fleshes out a strong-willed and conflicted three-dimensional character. Most impressive is the big-screen debut of Dwain Murphyas Bishop, Raya's potential suitor. Murphy, strongly resembling a young Lawrence Fishburne in both appearance and charisma, effortlessly steals every scene with his cocky swagger. In all, this very appealing cast nearly saves this movie. I must admit, though, that I fail to understand what it all means. None of the dancing on display here provides the requisite emotional lift that this Rocky-esque film requires; no dancer seems at any time different or betterthan anyone else. The film wants the audience to be as awed by Raya's "skill" as the characters surrounding her. However, what does she do in this film that makes her dancing any different than anyone else on stage? Is it because glass shatters around her whenever she dances? The film fails to show us this intangible quality. You know that disappointed feeling you get when a close boxing match ends without a knockout? The judges make a decision, and it always pisses off someone. It's basically a standoff without a clear winner. Imagine if Rocky didn't end with a knockout, but with a judgement call; it wouldn't have nearly the same emotional punch. By comparison, How She Move wants to achieve that Rocky-like summit of emotional catharsis, yet the dance competition at the end lacks a definitive conclusion; it's a judgement call. And from my vantage point, none of the dancing, while athletic, moves me very much. And that damn title is bad English, folks. Let's leave Ebonics to our imagination, shall we? EXTRAS There are some nice documentaries accompanying this movie, all of which serve to illuminate the winning cast. The Characters of How She Move - What I loved about this documentary is the way it intertwines the performers with their characters. Some of the actors in this film were making their theatrical debuts, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Some of the actors, like Murphy, Brennan Gademans, and Kevin Duhaney,all come off as even more likeable and charismatic in real life than they do onscreen. For relative amateurs, they certainly did their homework to try and capture a sense of authenticity in their characters. How She Move: From Rehearsal To Film - As one might expect, many weeks were spent fine-tuning the myriad dance sequences in the film. I particularly enjoyed watching the back and forth comparisons between the rehearsal and finished product. It's very obvious that, regardless of your background or taste in dance, these kids have a lot of ability and very impressive skills. How She Move: Telling Her Story- This documentary bugged me a little bit. Until this point in the disc, one might have gotten the impression that this film is an urban film "for the people, by the people." However, this documentary peeks behind the scenes, only to show a bunch of old white people from MTV films and Paramount giggling with recollections about pitch meetings over lunch while discussing this idea. The only steps these guy would know about either involves a walker or a rehabilitation program. This documentary makes the film's true intentions painfully obvious: make a film about the latest craze and tack onto it a "feel-good" plotline that will play to the oppressed. It manages to make this film, which I would classify as "okay," into another cynical entry in the Breakdancin' saga. Let's call it Breakdancin' 3: TweedleDeedleDee. OVERALL I have no idea who would actually buy into this "dancing as aggressive statement of principles" crap, but obviously someone does. If you find yourself unbelievably pumped up watching Janet Jackson robotically dance in front of a group of similarly-clad dancers, then this film is for you. The rest of the disc is nice, but ultimately it's your love or hatred of the step dance craze that best determines the importance of this disc in your collection. It makes me want to shoot someone. And no, not dance around pretending to shoot someone ... actually shoot someone. Maybe it's the Lou in me.