Movie Review by Neil Sadler
Starring: Izabella Miko, Columbus Short, Jacqueline Bisset, Maria Brooks
Director: David Petrarca
Sara Johnson (Izabella Miko) is an aspiring ballerina, good enough to get into Julliard. Earning a place with her idol, Monique Delacroix (Jacqueline Bisset) as her tutor – she seems on course to attain her goal as Prima Ballerina. On her first day, however, she meets Miles, a hip-hop tutor and former student and finds herself drawn to him and the passionate hip-hop style of dance and music he is involved in. She soon finds the two worlds at odds and must decide where to devote her time.
Without any of the stars of the first film, the only link to that film here is the ballet versus hip-hop clash. Much more serious about its ballet roots, this is both its strength and its weakness.
The ballet scenes are well shot and show the dedication and control that are required. The hip-hop scenes are quite scrappy in comparison and although energetic, don’t really match the power of the ballet scenes. The final dance sequence is supposed to show Sara releasing her passion for dance but it looks like an out-take from the latest hip-hop video and undermines the point of the film.
At times, this film plays like an episode of FAME. Jacqueline Bisset is excellent as the icy ballet teacher but everyone else even the leads struggles to rise above paper thin characters. I half-expected all the characters to break in to song and go dancing through the halls and streets – but sadly this never happened.
That said, this is better than you expect it to be and the leads make an amiable couple. It lacks the sheer energy of the original but if you are a fan of dance movies – and there must be a lot of people that are – then this will keep you entertained.
