When Proud April narrates her success story to the students of New Hope Studio, she makes it sound difficult to achieve. Invincible that she is, hearing the name Wellington ‘Welly’ Wong (Rex Lee) proves her frailty. Just to get into the team of Welly Wong she accepts teaching the misfits squad. Whether she succeeds or not is for the viewer to decide. But the director Elissa Down is focused on addressing the issue of ‘commitment.’ It takes courage to listen to oneself and one’s heartbeat.
Because April saw her mother abandoning her at a very young age. She feels responsible and punishes herself by running away from the only relationship she has. She fails to commit to anyone starting from her father to her lover Nick (Wolfgang Novogratz). Nick’s sister Sarah (Eva Hauge) is hugely affected by April running away all the time. Because Sarah considers April as a sweet sister as she was her inspiration for dancing. April, although a perfectionist, tremendously fails to perfectly commit to the task she has taken up. Only later, after her father gives her a pep talk she realizes that she needs to give herself a chance. That she must do what makes her happy. And she realizes that teaching the misfits made her happy. Welly Wong offers the lead role to April after seeing her commitment to the talented kids.
Sofia Carson is absolutely stunning. She is blunt, bold, and impeccably smart. Not once does she fail to draw your attention. Donna Lynne Champlin as the trainer of New Hope Studio is an absolutely wanted and required teacher. Right at her first appearance at the mall meeting April, she leaves a strong impression.
The plot switch looked a bit imbalanced. Switching from dance to narrating the individual family issues of commitment wasn’t easy for the director. The dance and the process that the children went through to make it to the finals looked a bit incomplete. Like we have seen in many movies in relation to reality shows. Feel the beat ends in a way I did not think it would.
The movie is vibrant and enthusiastic. It fills you with vigour and passion for life. The last dance on the street by the happy dancers and their families is an expression of how life has to be lived. After every hardwork and an amount of pain one has gone through, one has to dance the victory. At last, April committed herself to the relationships and tasks she had undertaken. She learned to listen to her heart. Therefore to feel the beat we have to stop and give a listening ear to everything happening around us and within us.
2 Comments
Just watched this with my daughter. Just an FYI – Marissa Winokur was not the dance instructor. Marissa played herself, a Tony-winning actress from Hairspray who judged the final competition in the film (and fought with the lead’s friend over her shoes). They actually made several references to her in the film. The small town dance instructor was played by Donna Lynne Champlin.
Thanks for brining that to our attention. I just fixed the name.