How She Move / 2008
There have been a number of films that have the same general premise as How She Move, including Drumline and Save the Last Dance. However, How She Move varies from these films in that How She Moves is actually a pretty good film. This film, which deals with an individual that, after eir sister dies, is looking to be forced into moving from a private school back to eir old neighborhood. To ensure that this doesn’t happen (and to allow eir to go to medical school), Raya enters a step-dancing competition. Raya’s skills are enough to impress the male-only dance crew of Bishop, who grants eir a spot on eir team.
However, after showing off, this spot is in jeopardy and Raya has to either show Bishop how ey was wrong or to step out on eir own. The film’s soundtrack is one of the strengths inherent in the movie, meaning that there are songs from established individuals (Lil Mama, Montell Jordan) and individuals and acts that have not broken it big in the United States up to this point (Fenom, K Smith, Smugglaz). The film is blessed with a short run time, something that Drumline suffered with (having over 20 minutes more footage than How She Move, Drumline’s pace resembled quite closely molasses).
This movie is for the current MTV/BET generation, and may not be a must-buy for individuals that are out of that age/demographic range. However, the story that is told is classic when one strips away all of the current accouterments, and individuals that are pondering purchase or rental should attempt to do just that. Ian Iqbal Rashid, the director, is still new to the scene: ey only has one other film (2004’s Touch of Pink) to eir name. I have no doubt that Rashid will come back in 2010 or 2011 with a film that is as solid as How She Move. For individuals that really want to know how the dance sequences were choreographed and filmed, the bonus features on this DVD look to show individuals just that. The bonus feature that was most impressive, in my opinion, had to be the one dealing with the history of step dancing. While I was ignorant of the art form going into the film, the featurette was done in such a way that I felt that I could even speak about step by the end of it.
Rating: 7.5/10
