How She Move (Paramount/MTV DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Feature: C

 

 

Essentially a Backstage Musical with some sappy melodrama and step dancing, Ian Iobal Rashid’s How She Move (2007) is essentially a formula film with what we now call the Rocky formula and that means it has to rely on its dance sequences to keep the film afloat.  In this respect, they cannot even combine to match Malcolm Lee’s Roll Bounce, but the film has a few moments that prevent it from being a disaster.

 

Rutina Wesley is decent as the antagonist, whose sister has issues and whose mother (surprise) disapproves of her doing anything else but going to college.  In an amusing twist, the mother has a Jamaican accent, but the words of wisdom sound more like that of an Irish or Jewish mom out of a 1930s woman’s film.  There is some ambition here for what this is, but Annemarie Morais’ screenplay tries too hard to meet its target audience and the inclusion of Keyshia Cole as herself co-hosting the finale is a bit much.  For the most interested only.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is soft throughout, with nose in some shots and dulled color.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is simple and has sonic limits from the location recording.  Music is even held back at times.  Extras include three featurettes and the original theatrical trailer.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo