DVD
REVIEWS:
How She Move
by Lynn B.
In
How She Move, young Raya (Rutina Wesley) has her life turned
upside down when she has to leave her private school and go home to
a rough Toronto neighborhood when her parents can’t afford the
school any longer.
Raya’s
former friends, especially Michelle (Tre Armstrong) think she’s
a snob for leaving the projects and going to a posh school.
With
her childhood homies ready to go down a path of drugs and destruction,
Raya tries to get a scholarship back to her old school but, with horrible
family tragedy and emotional upset against her, she blows the test.
Raya decides to enter a step-dancing contest with big prize money to
make her dreams come true. After a lot of drama between dance crews
and old and new friends, she succeeds.
Video/Audio:
This film wasn’t high budget so the colors are a little more “faint”
than some but the widescreen presentation is pretty clean and crisp.
All the noise, funk and foot-stomping of the step-dancing action comes
through in an exciting audio mix and shares all your speakers. Dialogue
is separated clearly. No problems.
Special
Features: "The Characters of 'How She Move” lets us meet
the talented young actors in the film. Fun and charming. You also learn
more about the backstories of each character. Nice feature.
"From
Rehearsal to Film" blew me away with all the amazing and tough
rehearsals the cast had to undergo. With Hi Hat as the choreographer,
these young actor/dancers worked their butts off, often ending up in
an exhausted puddle. Very real and a nice inside look at what it really
takes to make those moves on screen look easy.
"Telling
Her Story" traces the film’s origins from an early intent
to make it a documentary then a low budget production. This featurette
is very real and not the usual “selling” press kit junk.
You learn the tough challenges of production and why step-dancing was
chosen, its dance history, etc. We also see how the filmmakers wanted
this to be a more character-driven piece than the usual teen dance flick.
Wrapping
Up: How She Move has a ton of energy and you will identify
with and root for the characters to succeed. The dance moves are awesome
and you’ll enjoy the story; the heartbreak and journey to victory
in a cool dance-off. This more low-budge film might just be the best
and most moving of all the recent teen-aimed dance flicks. The DVD looks
fine and the special features are more “real” and interesting
than most. Definitely rent or buy if this type of film makes you want
to get up and bust a move!
This
film is rated PG-13 for some drug content, suggestive material and language.
