How She Move
Paramount Vantage | Release Date: January 25, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Mainly it’s a very solid dance picture, which is the point. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Rutina Wesley glowers with just the right touch of sweetness as a brainy student (and stellar after-school stepper). Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Choreographer Hi Hat and director Ian Iqbal Rashid kick the film into high gear every so often with dance sequences, climaxing with a dance-off in Detroit that seems too short. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin Chang
Title refers not only to its heroine's physical gyrations but also her moral maneuverings as she strives to break out of her lower-class surroundings in this moody, intelligent take on conventional material. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJim Ridley
Especially good are Wesley, whose expressions are a study in shifting thought, and Tre Armstrong as her street-hardened but good-hearted rival, a stock role that Armstrong fills with unmediated feeling. Read full review
70
Washington PostJohn Anderson
The movie, which is burdened by a rather mediocre script by Annmarie Morais but boasts some terrific performances -- is not just a sports movie. It's a girls-can't-do-it/girls-can-do-it/girls-do-it/girls-beat-the-boys-at-it movie. Read full review
70
The New York TimesMatt Zoller Seitz
There’s nary a twist you don’t see coming. But the film’s strong acting, spectacular dance routines and culturally specific details turn clichés into catharsis. It’s the sort of film that sends you home with a spring in your step. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid Denby
A rudimentary but thoroughly enjoyable step musical. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
This kind of a dance film lives and dies by the routines, and this one wins: Mixing elements of gymnastics, karate, and break with the almighty step – an exceedingly polite term for what is really an awesome stomp. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
How She Move is the latest urban music drama from MTV Films, and it manages to give a familiar story a vivid jolt of character. Read full review
67
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
There's tremendous energy in How She Move, so much that the audience can't help but be swept up. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
How She Move has two key assets: powerful dance sequences and an emphasis on education. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Formulaic but well-acted variation on the theme of pursuing your dreams through dance. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason McBride
Dialogue isn't Morais's strength, and it's only when the actors stop trading “Just give me a chance” chestnuts that the film really takes off. The deftly shot dance sequences are entirely satisfying, thrillingly choreographed by Hihat (most famous for her work with Missy Elliott) to music by the likes of Lil Mama and Toronto's Tha Smugglaz. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
The atmosphere is convincing - there is an "Eight Mile" desperation to Raya's plight - but nothing makes sense. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
When the cast starts clomping atop a car, their synchronized bodies joining with the booming cross-rhythms, we're sold. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
How She Move doesn't exactly break any new ground. But the terrific dance numbers on display should please its teenage target audience. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The film's good intentions gradually get lost in a sea of overwrought contrivances, stock characters, awkward cameos from B- and C-listers (R&B singer Keyshia Cole and not-so-funnyman DeRay Davis) and warmed-over family issues. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Produced by MTV Films, this step-dancing drama is mired in cliche, but with its dingy ghetto settings and hardened, despondent young characters, it's marginally more interesting than "Stomp the Yard," the 2007 movie that inaugurated the subgenre. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Gets it right in every dance sequence, but stumbles badly whenever the characters step offstage. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleDavid Wiegand
Movie cliches are supposed to be bad things because they make the movie too predictable. But you know, there are times when they actually work in a film's favor. Read full review
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