Make It Happen

Are there many better ways to waste an hour and a half than watching the gorgeous Mary Elizabeth Winstead strutting her stuff as a burlesque dancer? I didn't think so, but I was wrong. Winstead is breathtakingly beautiful, and sufficiently lithe and lissom for the role, but this derivative dance movie -- obviously inspired by films such as Flashdance, Fame, Breakin', and Coyote Ugly -- simply hasn't got the moves necessary for a good time.

Written by one-trick-pony Duane Adler (check out his filmography to see what I mean), this predictable urban fantasy piles on the clichés from the get-go: girl from Hicksville dreams of making it big - check! Her only family is her hard-working mechanic brother - check! She fails to make it through her audition - check! She takes a job at a nightclub where she falls for the nice guy DJ - check! Brother pays her a surprise visit and is shocked to see her on stage - check! Nice guy DJ convinces her to re-audition - check! She wows the choreographer and gets a place at dance school - check! Everyone is pleased for her, even her brother, who has had a change of heart - check!

Director Darren Grant injects very little life into proceedings: the drama is instantly forgettable, but even the dance scenes - surely the most important aspect of this genre - are incredibly bland. Don't expect any iconic moments a la Jennifer Beals water/chair moment in Flashdance - there aren't any. Don't look for cool moves as busted by Boogaloo Shrimp and Shabba-Doo in Breakin' - there aren't any. Winstead tries her best but the choreography is terrible - the final routine for her second audition isn't any better than her first attempt, but I guess failing twice wouldn't have been clichéd enough for this kind of tripe.

I watched for Winstead, but should have watched something else instead. 3/10.

It was no surprise that, throughout Make It Happen's 80-minutes duration, one would find this latest dance flick (helmed by occasional music director, Darren Grant) riddled with the most tiresome and obnoxious clichés that the genre could offer across its existence. Yes, to be fair, the film seems to be borrowing each scene from similarly plotted features. Yet, in one way or another, Make It Happen seems to present all of them just that better.

One of the flick's greatest and most undeniable asset would be lead Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who displays some of her best work here. It's hard not to swoon for Winstead, who switches from ferocious, limb-swinging urban dancer to ingénue, down-to-earth, corn-fed small town girl with impressive and flawless flair. She seems born for the role, radiating an unbelievable amount of charm, and drawing life into a well-written character. Despite having been supplied with a prosaic script, Winstead performs admirably well, both on and offstage.

Regardless of Winstead's poetic beauty, the film lacks a substantial screenplay, and every line feels tacky and uninspired. It's safe to say that the film is no more scripted than it is choreographed. Adler's libretto felt unremarkably familiar, and, with or without hindsight, you could almost tell how the film will unfold before the lights dim down. It was fortunate that the rest of the troops, though never coming close to stealing the show (leave that to Winstead), played their - stereotypical - parts adequately, with the provocative Julissa Bermudez standing out exiguously.

The film's lack of flesh on show is an affront to the cast's sensual, slinky sex appeal, and it is hard to find that the clubgoers are majorly made up of cheering females, rather than drooling guys. However, the dances are already enticing in nature, so more skin would not have been necessary, but simply more effective. Speaking of, the dance sequences are entertainingly beautiful, aided with a catchy soundtrack, and as a whole, undeniably a visual and aural delight - a testament to the eyes and ears.

Make It Happen is not much a film rather than a montage of energetic dance romps, connected solely by filler sequences enlaced with drama and romance. That said, they are good sequences of drama, as Winstead's verisimilar approach to her character enlivens each of the film's dramatic scenes. The same cannot be said for the sequences of romance though. Try as they might, the pairing of Winstead and Smith lacks chemistry, and as a result, the film is forced to present a dull romance that you couldn't care for. It doesn't help that Smith's character is near unlikable - as another critic put it - "a smarmy douche".

All the same, Grant's experience in the music video industry helped a lot here. Stunning cinematography entwine each scene, and the dance sequences are nothing short of being optically magnificent. Although there might not be much to entertain those with a passionate dislike of this variety, it is nevertheless a fine installment into the dance genre. Make It Happen passes as both a short, drama film entwined with great dance sequences, and an overtly long, energetic music video interweaved with filler drama scenes. However you put it, I believe Make It Happen is still a decent film.

Verdict: Darren Grant has crafted an enjoyable popcorn dance flick, an improvement over the recent additions to the genre. There's still much room for improvement, but Winstead's soulful performance atones for much of the flaws. Nevertheless, its feeble screenplay and extremely predictable fade-out could not go off easily unnoticed.

Greetings from the other side. You will get serious deja vu watching this movie.

Girl goes to dance try-out but doesn't make it, so she tries her hand at burlesque. You get the standard montage of trying on clothes, along with many other cliches, such as:

Hot DJ guy asks her out.

Evil dancer is jealous of her Says she can't dance like that, but after a rough start, she is amazing!

Her brother catches her doing burlesque, and is very upset and runs off in a huff, while she chases him to explain.

And many, many more.

A part that made me laugh was when she takes the stage for the first time, but has problems dancing to a slow song for no reason (people grumbling and shaking their heads at her dancing), so her DJ boyfriend changes the music to a fast beat song, and suddenly she is incredible! (And the crownd starts cheering and smiling).

This movie is watchable just once because Mary Elizabeth Winstead is in it, and she is just gorgeous, and talented. However, I didn't believe her kissing and make-out scenes. There didn't seem to be any chemistry with her boyfriend. Plus you have seen this all before in movies like Coyote Ugly, or Bulesque, and they did it better.

I don't mean for one moment to impugn the skills of filmmaker Darren Grant, or writers Duane Adler or Nicole Avril; there's nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make a movie that's effectively one's own take on a "tried and true" genre. And the contributions of all on hand are competent - no one here is incapable. I will say, however, that I understand the criticism and broadly weak-kneed response: in every aspect of the writing, in the direction and cinematography down to specific shots, and the editing down to discrete sequencing, this is a movie so familiar and well-trodden that it's kind of awkward and laughable for the fact of it. Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world, trying to Make It in the big city and pursue her dream of Something Or Other amidst conflicting pressures? Been there, done that, countless times. This doesn't mean 'Make it happen' can't be enjoyable and worthwhile on its own merits, though it does mean that unless one has a particular reason to seek this out over or in addition to any of its brethren, you're not especially missing anything.

With that said, if one does find themselves with an opportunity to watch this, there is nonetheless much to appreciate. There's some meaningful cleverness and heart in the screenplay, recognizable though it is. I greatly admire Karyn Wagner's fetching costume design, and the work of the hair and makeup artists - has the star's hair EVER been more full and luscious? The production design and art design, likewise, are simply splendid. The soundtrack is a total blast, and I say that as someone who for the vast majority of her life never listened to any manner of dance or pop music; less notable, Paul Haslinger's score is still swell in and of itself. I genuinely love Tracy Phillips' choreography, and every person dancing shows fabulous, tremendous skill that in and of itself might actually be enough to make this worthwhile - I have two left feet, and they're on backwards, and I'm jealous. And for that matter, I think the cast give fine performances. Tessa Thompson, Karen LeBlanc, Riley Smith, and others breathe meaningful life into their characters.

The biggest surprise of all, though, is surely Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I think she's a fantastic actress, and she's demonstrated time and again why she's so in demand and so beloved. We've grown accustomed, however, to seeing her in roles that accentuate wry humor that pairs so handily with her specific vocal timbre. 'Make it happen' rather seems to allow an illustration of range well outside the norm, and I'll be the first to admit that I never took her as someone who's got some moves. The joke's on me, though, because she absolutely nails it here, to the point that alongside dance and choreography at large, Winstead's involvement may also be a singular reason to check out this little flick.

Even at its best this isn't something so stupendous as to utterly demand viewership; I repeat that we've definitely seen this before by other names. But it's still entertaining. Everyone involved put in excellent work, especially those behind the scenes, choreographer Phillips, and the cast. This might be "only a dance movie," but the combination of song and step is earnestly invigorating, and it's impossible not to get swept up in the spectacle at least a little bit. It may be a light piece of formulaic fluff, yet that's all it needs to be for its specific few points of luminosity to shine brightly. Recommended most of all for fans of Winstead or of dance, 'Make it happen' might not be an essential must-see, but it's a good time all on its own, and sometimes that's all a picture needs to be.

I saw Make it Happen this morning and thoroughly enjoyed the film. I found the plot to be intelligent, original, interesting and emotionally engaging. I thought all of the characters in some way evoked my sympathy and the standard of acting was excellent. I enjoyed the romance and felt there was real 'chemistry' in those scenes. There wasn't as much dancing and music as I expected, but for me that didn't matter since I was more interested in the story. (Having said that, I enjoyed what dancing and music there was very much!) I don't see why anyone of a romantic nature (male or female) wouldn't thoroughly enjoy this film. It has everything I look for in a movie - and plenty of it. Highly recommended.