Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
Julia Stiles stars as a white teenage ballet student, forced to move to the inner cities of Chicago.
Liked
The hip hop dancing, and likable cast.
Disliked
Overly-complicated complications.
Thoughts
The movie that started the teenage dance movie craze was actually a good film.
In a few ways, it reminded me of Dirty Dancing, with fish-out-of-water and coming-of-age themes. Just like how I smirked at the antiquated aspects of the 1987 classic, I am certain I would be amused by the portrayal of teens in 2000's if I watched this two decades from now. Of course, both films were more than just about dancing.
While there was quite a bit of cool hip hop dancing, there was also decent writing and acting to go with it. Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas headline as two extremely likable teens. In general, the cast was very charming, and did well in portraying issues and situations that arise from less-than-ideal high school life in America. The strong acting helped me forget the predictability during certain plot points.
To compensate for the formulaic story and complications, the characters were multi-dimensional with human flaws and emotions. The material rarely fell back on cliches when exploring themes such as race, drugs, teenage mothers, tough choices, and of course, love. I did not expect the dialogue to be authentic-sounding or intelligent. By the time the prerequisite dance climax rolled along, I was emotionally invested in the couple.
The weakest link was the messy buildup to the climax. Clearly the writer had to do something to force our beloved pair to separate to up the drama for the last act. But a haphazard kitchen sink approach caused it this section to feel rushed, confusing, and unorganized.
I doubt it will reach the classic status of Dirty Dancing, but (thanks to its choreography, charm, intelligence, and heart) it deserved to be considered as more than just a run-of-the-mill teenage dance flick.
What I would change
Reduced the amount of complications right before the climax.
