Director: Max Giwa, Dania Pasquini
Screenplay: Jane English
Producers: Allan Niblo, James Richardson
Starring: Rachel McDowall, Charlotte Rampling, Nichola Burley, Richard Winsor, Ukweli Roach
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 98 min.

(2.5/5)

The year never feels complete if there isn’t at least one dance movie twirling its way across movie screens. 2010 saw the release of a few of these but the most interesting of the bunch, on the surface at least. Was Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini’s StreetDance 3D. Considering how everything seems to be unnecessarily presented in 3D, that’s not the factor that made this particular title interesting; the interest factor is heightened here as this production hails out of the UK and I was hoping it would be, like its Canadian counterpart How She Move, better than your average Hollywood offering. Sadly, that wasn’t meant to be.

Starring an array of talented, good looking dancers including the group which took the UK by storm in 2009, StreetDance is a mostly forgettable cookie cutter dance movie. This one takes a crew of street dancers with a new leader/choreographer and no place to rehearse. While delivering sandwiches, Carly finds herself at a ballet academy with the proposition from the head mistress Helena: the use of rehearsal space if Carly takes a few of Helena’s dancers into her crew in an effort to loosen them up. Expectedly, the group doesn’t get along well to start but quickly finds a unique rhythm that in the end, proves to be a success.

I didn’t care much for the overarching story of StreetDance and the acting is nothing to write home about but the movie has great energy thanks to the exceptional dance numbers peppered throughout. The characters are mostly flat and uninteresting and though the writers get a little bit of praise for the decision to make Carly more than just a pretty face and have her leading the group and contriving the choreography, it’s not really enough to build a film on and I found myself wondering away from the movie whenever something “dramatic” was going on and then wondering back when the dance numbers started. Even the great Charlotte Rampling isn’t quite enough to keep the momentum going but there are a few fresh faces here that suggest better things. The first is Ukweli Roach who plays Carly’s old flame and the other is Richard Winsor who steps in as her new love interest. It certainly helps that both are extremely handsome but beyond that, both displayed great screen presence in their limited roles.

I didn’t love StreetDance but as Movie Moxie so wonderfully pointed out, the film is exactly the kind of thing that would be perfect to take young girls to as it manages to remain chaste, has a number of female characters in leading roles who don’t compromise their goals and dreams all the while delivering a positive message and a great collection of dance sequences (not to mention a collection of sneakers that made me want to go shopping). I just wish it offered a more compelling story.

StreetDance is available on DVD and Blu-ray on January 25th.

DVD Extras: A short collection of largely uninteresting behind the scenes clips. A making of sequence which would be more interesting for those who saw the film in 3D as they focus quite a bit on capturing the sequences so that they have more impact when converted to 3D. That said, there is also a bit of insight on how the slow motion was captured. The final bit of extras are winning choreographies from across Canada for a contest that ran when the film opened in theatres. The performances come from Edmonton, Quebec, Vancouver and Toronto but easily the best of the bunch is the Edmonton audition which was brilliant. You’re best to watch these from right to left and saving the best for last or simply skipping the rest and watching the Edmonton video.