How She Move

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The traditional style of African-American dance known as "stepping" gets a big screen showcase in the musical drama "How She Move" (Paramount Vantage). While buoyantly entertaining, the film gently conveys some positive moral messages along the way.

Raya Green (Rutina Wesley) is the daughter of David (Conrad Coates) and Faye (Melanie Nicholls-King), upwardly mobile Caribbean immigrants living in Canada. By the time their elder daughter, Pam, succumbs to drug abuse, however, Raya's parents have lost their life savings trying to rescue her from that addiction.

As a result, Raya has to leave her exclusive boarding school and return to the gritty Toronto neighborhood where she was raised. There she encounters a former friend turned suspicious rival, Michelle (Tre Armstrong), as well as charismatic local step veteran Bishop (Dwain Murphy), who renews her interest in the craze.

Determined to win a stepping contest with its prize of $50,000 -- money she hopes to use for private-school tuition -- Raya auditions and becomes the only female member of Bishop's "crew," the Jane Street Junta. As with any other nonacademic activity, however, Raya must conceal her interest in dancing from her wary mom.

Despite the bond she's begun to form with her teammates and a growing romantic attachment to Bishop, Raya eventually finds herself tempted by her ambition to quit the Junta in favor of a rival crew. At home, meanwhile, Faye's depression over her other daughter's death causes her to lash out at the easygoing David, straining their marriage to the breaking point.

While sequences of tightly choreographed stomping provide the high points of director Ian Iqbal Rashid's movie, the dramatic elements are equally effective. Nicholls-King is especially powerful in projecting her fears for the welfare of her surviving daughter. The script emphasizes the value of education, hard work and perseverance as well as the respectful, primarily friendship-based central romance.

These positive elements, together with a clear admonition about the devastating effects of drug use, are partially offset by some vulgar language, which -- though arguably appropriate to the setting -- precludes recommendation for younger viewers who might otherwise benefit from the movie's rewarding themes. It is possibly acceptable for older teens.

The film contains two uses of the f-word (one only mouthed), much crude and crass language, one use of profanity, one obscene gesture, drug references, and suggestive dancing. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops