Surprisingly Refreshing, Wholesome, Entertaining and Positive
Added 8/16/2009
How She Move is a very entertaing positive film that focuses on a very intelligent and lovely young black woman, Raya. Raya leaves boarding school and goes back to her home in the projects after her sister dies. From the minute she gets back she's confronted with jealous ex-peers, two bit hustlers and a young man (Bishop) who has romantic feelings for her from back in the day.
Raya sticks to her plans to attend medical school but must overcome obstacles. These obstacles include her old nemesis/friend Michelle and Raya trying to get into Bishop's step crew. Raya's naturally talented in step but Bishop, though he's very attracted to Raya, doesn't want a female on his crew. Raya becomes determined to be on Bishop's crew after realizing she can win fifty thousand dollars at a step competition. She plans to use the money for medical school. Bishop suggests she gets on a girl's crew, namely Michelle's but Raya isn't having it. She doesn't give up and finds help in Bishop's younger brother who teaches her Bishop's routines behind his back.
Bishop finally agrees to let Raya step in his group but his ego gets the best of him when he sees she's easily the best in the crew. From that point on Raya continues to try to prove herself to those around her and ends up learning many valuable lessons. Though she hits roadblocks with Michelle and Bishop, they both help her to see that they need her as much as she needs them.
I was surprised at how good this film was. I enjoyed it because it's not the typical hip-hop movie. This is a film about a woman's journey and that woman just happens to know how to step. I think those that said the film's dances lacked something (which they didn't to me), didn't understand that the movie wasn't about the stepping. It was about Raya's life and what's she goes through. Stepping was just a tiny part of it. I thought the dancing was very good, about as good as any other step film I've seen. The actress that plays Raya is vibrant, very beautiful and brings forth a sympathetic charm that attracts you to her. The movie was realistic but you won't see any violence or sex. Maybe that's why some were disappointed. This is truly a film you can watch with your family. It's very entertaining and provides a big message about the choices we make and how we deal with them.
If have an open mind and realize that every black film doesn't have to be violent, full of sex, gang violence, involve drive-bys or have characters who or criminals and drug heads, then you will like this movie. There is NONE of that in this film. In fact the only kiss in the movie was the one between Bishop and Raya after they win the step competition. For those that expect this to be "Boys in the Hood" meets "Fame" then How She Move is definitely not for you. It's not for narrow-minded people who think that all urban films must deal with the street life and the results of it. This is a movie for people (of any race) who'd like to be entertained while learning a lesson about live, love and dreams. I definitely recommend it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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She Dances
Added 5/9/2009
It was so long ago that I watched the movie but home girl can dance!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Formulaic but still entertaining. . . .
Added 6/29/2008
Like "Flashdance," "Footloose," "Billy Elliot" and any number of dance movies, "How She Move" is the story of a big dreamer who finds release in dance. Unknown Rutina Wesley stars as Raya, a second-generation Jamaican from a borderline-ghetto in Toronto, Canada, who wants to become a doctor. After drug-addiction claims her sister, Pam, and Raya's parents can no longer afford her private school tuition, Raya returns to the `hood, scraping and scheming to find her way back out, all the while resented by the locals for her ambition. She happens upon a group of guys who practice and compete in Step-dance competitions for cash. Step--a heady mix of rhythm-precise hip-hop, break-dancing and locking moves--is highly segregated by sex and "How She Move" revolves around Raya's quest to infiltrate an all-boys club and help the guys win a local competition (and, for her, much-needed money for college). If you think you've heard of or seen a variation of this story before, then you probably have. Still, as depicted by director Ian Rashad, Raya's neighborhood and environs are a gritty and true-to-life portrayal. While the movie strongly evokes the dead-end that awaits many poor and working-class youth with substandard education, it also telescopes the resentments engendered by those who aspire to more in life. In the film's telling, Step represents a momentary way out of bleak surroundings and Wesley, with her intense square jaw and brooding eyes, makes a convincing heroine who's out to prove herself and do something with her life. Melanie Nicholls-King also gives a credible performance as Raya's mother--a careworn first-generation Jamaican immigrant who works tirelessly to see that the ruthless streets do not claim her only remaining child. In the end, "How She Move" may be a formulaic story that's all-too-familiar, but it is still mildly entertaining. The pulsating soundtrack features songs by Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes, among many others.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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She Move Good, She Act Bad
Added 6/22/2008
When the plot for a movie is basically created by combining Breakin 2 and Honey, there is a near guarantee that it's going to open up a cinema black hole. If not for the superb dancing in this movie, the entire project would be nearly without anything substantial or worthwhile.
Rayanna Green (Rutina Wesley) is not only a good student, but she's also a great dancer who has to earn the respect of the boys in the dance crew. Somehow this group manages to get tons of school time, and the auto-shop facilities to practice their moves, while fulfilling and/or overcoming every cliché in cinema history. Among those clichés is obviously the big dance-off ending with corny DJs, and I can guarantee you can guess the winner. This movie is so unoriginal, I think the makers of Stomp the Yard, Step Up, and Save the Last Dance should look into legal proceedings.
I remember seeing the preview of this movie, thinking it was a bland remake, and writing it off. But when it ended and I saw that the title was "How She Move", I immediately became irritated with the insidious way in which ebonics have crept into acceptability. If anything, the movie should have been titled "Oh No She Di'int" because of the audacity needed to title a movie with such egregious grammar. The dancers and choreography may be nimble, but the acting and plot serve as the two left feet of the drunk uncle who shows up at every family wedding, and ruins whatever positive vibe there may have been amongst those who are having fun and dancing.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Not as Hype as I thought
Added 6/2/2008
The movie was good overall but the story line was a little whack. It kind of kept going back and forth with her betraying this person then helping that person yadyadyada. Still it had some decent dance moves and decent music and was not a bad movie to watch on a Friday night with my girl
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Surprisingly Refreshing, Wholesome, Entertaining and Positive
Added 8/16/2009
How She Move is a very entertaing positive film that focuses on a very intelligent and lovely young black woman, Raya. Raya leaves boarding school and goes back to her home in the projects after her sister dies. From the minute she gets back she's confronted with jealous ex-peers, two bit hustlers and a young man (Bishop) who has romantic feelings for her from back in the day.
Raya sticks to her plans to attend medical school but must overcome obstacles. These obstacles include her old nemesis/friend Michelle and Raya trying to get into Bishop's step crew. Raya's naturally talented in step but Bishop, though he's very attracted to Raya, doesn't want a female on his crew. Raya becomes determined to be on Bishop's crew after realizing she can win fifty thousand dollars at a step competition. She plans to use the money for medical school. Bishop suggests she gets on a girl's crew, namely Michelle's but Raya isn't having it. She doesn't give up and finds help in Bishop's younger brother who teaches her Bishop's routines behind his back.
Bishop finally agrees to let Raya step in his group but his ego gets the best of him when he sees she's easily the best in the crew. From that point on Raya continues to try to prove herself to those around her and ends up learning many valuable lessons. Though she hits roadblocks with Michelle and Bishop, they both help her to see that they need her as much as she needs them.
I was surprised at how good this film was. I enjoyed it because it's not the typical hip-hop movie. This is a film about a woman's journey and that woman just happens to know how to step. I think those that said the film's dances lacked something (which they didn't to me), didn't understand that the movie wasn't about the stepping. It was about Raya's life and what's she goes through. Stepping was just a tiny part of it. I thought the dancing was very good, about as good as any other step film I've seen. The actress that plays Raya is vibrant, very beautiful and brings forth a sympathetic charm that attracts you to her. The movie was realistic but you won't see any violence or sex. Maybe that's why some were disappointed. This is truly a film you can watch with your family. It's very entertaining and provides a big message about the choices we make and how we deal with them.
If have an open mind and realize that every black film doesn't have to be violent, full of sex, gang violence, involve drive-bys or have characters who or criminals and drug heads, then you will like this movie. There is NONE of that in this film. In fact the only kiss in the movie was the one between Bishop and Raya after they win the step competition. For those that expect this to be "Boys in the Hood" meets "Fame" then How She Move is definitely not for you. It's not for narrow-minded people who think that all urban films must deal with the street life and the results of it. This is a movie for people (of any race) who'd like to be entertained while learning a lesson about live, love and dreams. I definitely recommend it.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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She Dances
Added 5/9/2009
It was so long ago that I watched the movie but home girl can dance!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Formulaic but still entertaining. . . .
Added 6/29/2008
Like "Flashdance," "Footloose," "Billy Elliot" and any number of dance movies, "How She Move" is the story of a big dreamer who finds release in dance. Unknown Rutina Wesley stars as Raya, a second-generation Jamaican from a borderline-ghetto in Toronto, Canada, who wants to become a doctor. After drug-addiction claims her sister, Pam, and Raya's parents can no longer afford her private school tuition, Raya returns to the `hood, scraping and scheming to find her way back out, all the while resented by the locals for her ambition. She happens upon a group of guys who practice and compete in Step-dance competitions for cash. Step--a heady mix of rhythm-precise hip-hop, break-dancing and locking moves--is highly segregated by sex and "How She Move" revolves around Raya's quest to infiltrate an all-boys club and help the guys win a local competition (and, for her, much-needed money for college). If you think you've heard of or seen a variation of this story before, then you probably have. Still, as depicted by director Ian Rashad, Raya's neighborhood and environs are a gritty and true-to-life portrayal. While the movie strongly evokes the dead-end that awaits many poor and working-class youth with substandard education, it also telescopes the resentments engendered by those who aspire to more in life. In the film's telling, Step represents a momentary way out of bleak surroundings and Wesley, with her intense square jaw and brooding eyes, makes a convincing heroine who's out to prove herself and do something with her life. Melanie Nicholls-King also gives a credible performance as Raya's mother--a careworn first-generation Jamaican immigrant who works tirelessly to see that the ruthless streets do not claim her only remaining child. In the end, "How She Move" may be a formulaic story that's all-too-familiar, but it is still mildly entertaining. The pulsating soundtrack features songs by Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes, among many others.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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