Following the success of dance spectacles such as 'Stomp The Yard', 'Save The Last Dance' and 'You Got Served', film goers now have 'Make It Happen'
but can it step up to its predecessors and dance up a box-office storm??? Like its forerunners, 'Make It Happen' follows a generic storyline. Country gal' Lauryn (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) leaves hicks ville to pursue dancing in the big smoke
only to be bitterly disappointed when her audition for the Chicago School of Music and Dance ends up a spectacular flop. Dreams shattered, Lauryn finds work at seedy burlesque club 'Ruby's'. Here she meets disc jockey Russ (Riley Smith), where an inevitable spark is lit between the two. Pretty soon her dance career heats up also; she takes center stage, performing burlesque/hip-hop fusions to a screaming audience each night. It is at 'Ruby's' where Lauryn is forced to reevaluate her dreams, her family, her life and love
taking her on the ultimate journey of self discovery
Lauryn's transformation from heavily made-up, sexy country hick to heavily made-up, sexy dancer
is nothing short of
well
nothing. Lauryn is a flat, uninspired, martyr who comes across as the ultimate drip
a wet blanket some might say. Winstead has a certain screen presence
yet the script dumbs down any moments of authenticity in her performance. The supporting cast is not worth mentioning; they play it by the numbers and it's all a very trite.
"But who gives a Shiite about the characters and story?" I hear you say
"We're all watching it for the dancing!" Surely a film with such a wafer thin plot and stale protagonists would compensate with breathtaking, sexy and exhilarating dance sequences
right? WRONG. When the dance sequences should be sizzling, they end up fizzling
when they are about to pack a punch, they give the audience a floppy and limp wrist. They are competently filmed, and edited with a sense of rhythm, yet memorable moments = ZILL. The film attempts to explore the somewhat risqué style of burlesque dance
but wants to keep a PG rating
so everything about 'Ruby's' feels completely toned down.
For a dance movie, there is very little dancing. Unfortunately this means the audience sits through excessive amounts of predictable dialog before anything remotely exciting happens. At times it almost reaches "it's so lame it's good!" status
but never quite gets there. 'Make It Happen' really doesn't make anything happen at all
save your money and watch highlights of So You Think You Can Dance on You Tube.
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