FEEL THE BEAT: A PREDICTABLE YET REFRESHING DRAMA

By Naylii Sophea

‘Feel the Beat’ is the story of April Dibrina (Sofia Carson), a small-town girl who dreams to be a world-renowned Broadway dancer. She is not only ambitious but also driven, hardworking and committed. On the day of a big audition, she 'steals' a cab from an elderly woman to reach the studio on time. She almost makes it to the final round, but it turns out that the old woman she had earlier misbehaved with, Ruth Zimmer (Pamela Macdonald), is one of the jury members and one of the biggest names in Broadway. April tries hard to convince her to give her a chance but inadvertently ends up pushing her off the stage. April gets blacklisted from the dancing community in NYC. Will she ever be able to come back or will she have to choose an alternative career?

Surviving in a big city without a job is a challenge so April packs her bag and heads to her hometown, New Hope (Wisconsin), to be with her dad. She is warmly welcomed by her first dance teacher, Miss Barb (Donna Lynne Champlin), who offers her a chance to train a misfit group of amateurs to win ‘Dance Dance Dance Dance Competition’. April initially mocks at the opportunity but only until she learns that the competition is being judged by Welly Wong (Rex Lee), a powerful New York producer.

But dancing is one thing and teaching it to someone, especially kids, is another. This job requires April to summon immense patience, which happens to be a quality she lacks the most. She’s deeply committed to dancing and expects the kids to measure up to her. She is uncompromising in her ways and demands that her students follow her methods to a T. Will she be able to mould these young dancers with her strict ways?

Elissa Down’s (Director) flick is refreshing and invokes a sense of hope, love and achievement. It’s not merely a story that focuses on a dance competition; rather, it’s the coming-of-age journey of an ambitious but reckless young soul. Two subplots perfectly fit into the storyline. One is the little love story of April and Nick (Wolfgang Novogratz), whom she broke up with before she first left for New York. The other one revolves around Nick’s sister Sarah (Eva Hauge), who used to idolise April but now resents her for leaving everything without a word.

Co-written by Michael Ambruster and Shwan Ku, the movie shows nothing we haven’t seen before. It takes a while to get going but once it does, this tale turns out to be an emotional one, especially with some heartfelt moments with the young kids. Even the number of energetic dances performed by them elevates this film to another level. Despite a cliched plotline, this one is bound to melt hearts.

Sofia Carson as April perfectly sinks into the character of a not-so-kind and self-centered girl who would step over anyone in a heartbeat to become the best dancer. Her dad, Frank (Enrico Colantoni) performs his role with finesse. Wolfgang Novogratz as Nick is quite likable. On the other hand, overreacting to almost everything, Donna Lynne Champlin's character as Miss Barb is loud and cheesy. The older girls of the dance group, Kari (Lidya Jewett) and Sarah (Eva Hauge), turn out to be the greatest asset. The rest of the rambunctious kids of the group are adorable and steal the show with their dance and acting chops. All in all, it’s a feel-good film that inspires you to follow your heart.

Rating: 7.5/10