How She Move
Encyclopedia
How She Move is a 2007 drama film
directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid
and starring Rutina Wesley
, Clé Bennett
and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing
. The film is produced by Celluloid Dreams
, Sienna Films, Paramount Vantage
and MTV Films
.
education, Rayanna or Raya (Rutina Wesley
) returns to her family home in the city while reluctantly re-evaluating her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is $50,000, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's (Dwain Murphy
) predominantly male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked-off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. In the end, she eventually learns "how she move".
film was original slated to open in Canada in March 2007, but when it picked up a distribution deal from Paramount
and MTV
at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
, the release date was pushed back to allow for reshooting several of the dance sequences, particularly the finale. The film was shot on Super 16mm for $5 million, and Paramount invested another $2 million in the new sequences, re-editing, and new sound mix. They created a new soundtrack with American and Canadian hip-hop artists. The film was originally set and filmed in Toronto, but the new edit removes references of the team traveling from Toronto to Detroit for the dance competition. Paramount/MTV spent another $10 million in promotion and distribution to 1500 theatres in the United States and 50 in Canada.
listing, 66% of critics gave it positive response, based on 73 reviews. The critical consensus for the film was "energetic and gritty, despite a formulaic plot".
on April 29. The film was also released in Australia
n cinemas on April 10, 2008, and will be available on DVD on September 4.
page, the official track listing is as follows:
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid
Ian Iqbal Rashid
Born in 1971 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Ian Iqbal Rashid is a poet, screenwriter and filmmaker.In his early childhood, his family were forced to leave Tanzania. After failing to secure asylum in the UK and US, they settled in Canada...
and starring Rutina Wesley
Rutina Wesley
Rutina Wesley is an American film, stage, and television actress best known for her role as Tara Thornton on the HBO series True Blood.-Early life:...
, Clé Bennett
Clé Bennett
Clé Bennett is a Canadian television and film actor. He has had roles in the television series Instant Star, Soul Food, The Hoop Life, Code Name: Eternity, Odyssey 5, Total Drama and The Line, as well as the films Harvard Man, Treed Murray, Urban Legend, How She Move and Doomstown...
and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing
Stepping (African-American)
Stepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps...
. The film is produced by Celluloid Dreams
Celluloid Dreams
Celluloid Dreams is a French film production and distribution company which is also an international sales company as well. They also run a video on-demand platform, The Auteurs in conjunction with The Criterion Collection...
, Sienna Films, Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage is the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures , charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally those with a more "art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company.Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and...
and MTV Films
MTV Films
MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Founded in 1996, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by fellow Viacom division...
.
Plot
Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private schoolPrivate school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
education, Rayanna or Raya (Rutina Wesley
Rutina Wesley
Rutina Wesley is an American film, stage, and television actress best known for her role as Tara Thornton on the HBO series True Blood.-Early life:...
) returns to her family home in the city while reluctantly re-evaluating her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is $50,000, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's (Dwain Murphy
Dwain Murphy
Dwain Murphy is a Caribbean-born Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Eric in Degrassi: The Next Generation, Giles in The Line, and Bishop in How She Move.-Biography:Murphy was born in the small Caribbean island of Dominica...
) predominantly male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked-off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. In the end, she eventually learns "how she move".
Cast
- Rutina WesleyRutina WesleyRutina Wesley is an American film, stage, and television actress best known for her role as Tara Thornton on the HBO series True Blood.-Early life:...
as Rayana aka Raya - Dwain MurphyDwain MurphyDwain Murphy is a Caribbean-born Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Eric in Degrassi: The Next Generation, Giles in The Line, and Bishop in How She Move.-Biography:Murphy was born in the small Caribbean island of Dominica...
as Bishop - Clé BennettClé BennettClé Bennett is a Canadian television and film actor. He has had roles in the television series Instant Star, Soul Food, The Hoop Life, Code Name: Eternity, Odyssey 5, Total Drama and The Line, as well as the films Harvard Man, Treed Murray, Urban Legend, How She Move and Doomstown...
as Garvey - Romina D'UgoRomina D'UgoRomina D'Ugo is a Toronto-born actress and dancer who was a part of the So You Think You Can Dance Canada Top 20. She has guest-starred in Degrassi: Next Generation, Life with Derek and Hairspray....
as Selia - Kevin DuhaneyKevin DuhaneyKevin Duhaney is a Canadian rapper and actor. He is best known for his role as Ethan James, the Blue Dino Ranger, in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder-Film:* Animal 2 - Tommy...
as E.C. - Shawn DesmanShawn DesmanShawn Bosco Fernandes better known by his stage name Shawn Desman, is a Canadian pop/R&B singer of Portuguese descent. He is signed to Universal Music Canada.-Career:...
as Trey - Brennan Gademans as Quake
- Tré ArmstrongTré Armstrong- Biography :Tre's early dance schooling in ballet, tap and jazz technique is what has shaped her into who she is today. She has appeared on Top O the Pops, Canadian Idol, BET's 106 & Park and The MTV Video Music Awards...
as Michelle - Jason HarrowKardinal OffishallJason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...
as Himself - Jai Jai Jones as Lester Johnson
- Tristan D. Lalla as Big Man Manny
- Daniel Morrison as Wayne
- Keyshia ColeKeyshia ColeKeyshia Myeshia Cole Gibson born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her sophomore album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007...
as Herself - DeRay DavisDeRay DavisDeRay Davis is an American stand-up comedian and actor. DeRay began his career in the comedy clubs. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, He won the Comedy Central Laugh Riots Competition and was a standout on the Cedric the Entertainer Tour...
as Himself - Melanie Nicholls-King as Raya's Mom
Production and release
This CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
film was original slated to open in Canada in March 2007, but when it picked up a distribution deal from Paramount
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage is the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures , charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, generally those with a more "art house" feel than films made and distributed by its parent company.Paramount Classics was launched in 1998 and...
and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
, the release date was pushed back to allow for reshooting several of the dance sequences, particularly the finale. The film was shot on Super 16mm for $5 million, and Paramount invested another $2 million in the new sequences, re-editing, and new sound mix. They created a new soundtrack with American and Canadian hip-hop artists. The film was originally set and filmed in Toronto, but the new edit removes references of the team traveling from Toronto to Detroit for the dance competition. Paramount/MTV spent another $10 million in promotion and distribution to 1500 theatres in the United States and 50 in Canada.
Critical reception
How She Move delivered mainly positive critical response. On its Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
listing, 66% of critics gave it positive response, based on 73 reviews. The critical consensus for the film was "energetic and gritty, despite a formulaic plot".
Home video release
Having been released in U.S. theaters on January 25, 2008, the film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on April 29. The film was also released in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cinemas on April 10, 2008, and will be available on DVD on September 4.
Soundtrack
According to the film's MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page, the official track listing is as follows:
- "G-Slide (Tour Bus)G-Slide (Tour Bus)"G-Slide " is the second single off the rap artist Lil Mama's debut album, VYP: Voice of the Young People. The song is co-written and produced by Dr...
" – Lil MamaLil MamaNiatia Jessica Kirkland professionally known as Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, and dancer.-Early life:...
feat. Kadar - "Out Here" - Mayhem Morearty
- "My Boots" - Montell JordanMontell JordanMontell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to...
- "Perfect" - Carl HenryCarl HenryCarl Henry is a Jamaican-born R&B singer, who was raised in Montreal, Canada.His debut album, entitled RNB, garnered him his first Juno nomination for Best R&B/Soul recording of the Year...
- "Jane & Finchin'" - Smugglaz
- "It Don't Make Any Difference To Me" (acoustic version) – Kevin MichaelKevin MichaelKevin Michael is an American pop artist that was signed to Downtown Records in 2007, the same year he released his self-titled album.-Early life:...
feat. Akil Dasan - "Hot Hot Hot" - Montell Jordan
- "Reflectionz" – Fenom
- "Ms. Golly" - Lenn Hammond
- "Rude Girl Remix" - Montell Jordan
- "Monster" – SaukratesSaukratesKarl Amani Wailoo , better known by his stage name Saukrates , is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer of Guyanese descent. He is the co-founder of Capitol Hill Music, and lead singer of hip-hop/R&B group Big Black Lincoln...
- "Work That Stick" - Montell Jordan
- "Still Burnin'" - Fenom
- "Don't Let It Slip Away" - Mood RuffMood RuffMood Ruff was a conscious hip-hop group hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The group consisted of Odario, Spitz, Breakz, and ICQRI. Their final album I Do My Own Stunts, which was released in 2005, contained their first hit, "Rocketship".-History:...
- "Tempo" – K Smith
- "Touch it" – Busta
External links
- Sundance deal helped punch up How She Move CBC.ca January 24, 2008