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Canada, United States, France · 2008
Rated PG-13 · 1h 34m
Director Ian Iqbal Rashid
Starring Rutina Wesley, Dwain Murphy, Boyd Banks, Clé Bennett
Genre Drama
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Following her sister's death from drug addiction, high school student Raya Green is forced to leave her prestigious private school to return to her old, crime-filled neighborhood. She soon finds herself drawn into the world of underground dance competitions and re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive world of step dancing.
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.
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
How She Move doesn't exactly break any new ground. But the terrific dance numbers on display should please its teenage target audience.
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.
Austin Chronicle by Kimberley 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.
Charlotte Observer by Lawrence 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.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
Rutina Wesley glowers with just the right touch of sweetness as a brainy student (and stellar after-school stepper).
Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips
Mainly it’s a very solid dance picture, which is the point.
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.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Sean 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.