Plot: Feel the Beat is a film that combines dance, comedy, and drama. It is directed by Elissa Down and stars Sofia Carson, Enrico Colantoni and Wolfgang Novogratz. Carson stars as April Dibrina, an aspiring Broadway dancer in New York City. Unknowingly, April steals a taxi from Ruth Zimmer, the producer of a major Broadway show April is going to audition for. After the realization she tries to plead with Ruth not to get cut, only to accidentally cause her to get injured. To make matters worse, the entire encounter was recorded by another dancer. After the embarrassing video of her goes viral, April returns to her small hometown in Wisconsin. April reluctantly accepts an offer to coach the local dance team in hopes of getting the attention of a famous Broadway producer, Welly Wong, at the national competition. Throughout the journey, April struggles with figuring out what her dreams are while also trying to mend relationships with the people she left behind years ago -- one of them being her ex-boyfriend, Nick. The movie shines a light on the rigorous training and pressures professional dancers go through.
Rating: 3/5
I would say it is PG-13. The only curse word that I can remember that wasn’t censored was “ass” near the end. It also shows some little girls twerking/doing suggestive dancing in somewhat skimpy outfits in dance competitions -- for me it was awkward and I skipped through those parts, but I guess it also highlights the sexualization of young girls in the dance industry.
Pros:
Diversity (out of the main cast) - Zuzu is deaf and everyone knows/learns sign language which is used throughout the film. Kari is African American and comes from a struggling household. June is of (I believe) Japanese descent (based on her Instagram account). In addition, Dicky joins the dance group and no sexist comments are made about it. Oona is not made fun of for her weight (if I recall correctly). Deco is also African American and honestly slays throughout the movie (Such a queen, I aspire to be him)
Supportive side characters (especially dads) - all the townspeople are super supportive of April and the girls. The dads tho came THRU. I really enjoyed the scenes of them taking notes on the dances and helping their daughters with practicing at home. The football coach (father of Dicky and one of the girls) especially surprised me because I thought the movie was going to make him the stereotypical sexist dude with him being against Dicky joining dance and overall looking down on dance, but I was pleasantly surprised when he started going full cheerleader mode when Dicky joined in.
Sofia Carson and Wolfgang Novogratz - I really enjoyed their acting and chemistry together. Though, I wished their was more time to develop their relationship before getting back together because it felt very rushed/abrupt when they kissed. Either way, I really liked their banter and interactions, it felt really realistic.
Kinda enjoyed the little crush Sarah had on RJ because I’ve been there lmao.
Cons:
Cheesy and predictable - going into it I already knew what was going to happen obviously which kinda made it more bearable I guess? Kinda overdramatic with some characters like Miss Barb but at the same time endearing.
Sometimes the dialogue felt weird and cringey - this was mostly felt in the parts at the beginning with April begging Ruth and her going back to Wisconsin.
April in the beginning - I know the whole idea is to show the major growth April goes through from start to finish and that the protagonist is not perfect, but it felt so weird for April to be so blatantly bitchy and moody to the girls the first time they meet. I feel that most people at least would put on a fake smile at the start and try to answer the questions in a respectable way. Tho I would like to mention that I love Sofia Carson even when acts like a villain lmao. Plus the way she treated Ruby was just not cool??? Like at least be a decent human being and say something along the lines of “you could practice harder and be better” instead of just crushing her dream???
Some of the dancing scenes where girls twerked/did very suggestive dancing - I skipped through these parts b/c I was so uncomfortable from the first second. Enough said.
Nick - look he is hot and I loved the few scenes of banter between him and April, but I felt that he wasn’t really developed? I understand that he is not the main focus so there might not have been enough time for him too. Honestly, I think its because he seems WAY TOO PERFECT and I wish to find a guy like that haha (my hopeless romantic heart beats so fast when he is on screen) Guess who found their new celebrity crush
So those were my thoughts on Feel the Beat! My PMs/replies are definitely always open to discuss this movie or any other movie/shows that I’ve seen/reviewed. I would love to geek out with anyone! <3
Honestly, there is a lot to unpack in these episodes that I binged and honestly I’m probably forgetting A LOT of details. I really loved the last 2 episodes especially. This took me like a month to write because I have been procrastinating writing down all my thoughts lol. Enjoy and feel free to message me because I would love to talk with someone about this amazing show! 💓💓💓
Ep 10: I watched this episode the day it came out but totally forgot to write a post for it. I have mixed feelings about the dream sequence. It was cool to see Mac interact with his mom and lets the audience know how he is feeling. But, I kinda got confused with the Nikola Tesla plot throughout it and kinda felt like it dragged on. Having Lasky come back in the dream sequence broke my heart because I really liked his character and honestly I teared up watching him die in the previous episode. I’m glad in the end there was some action with Scarlett and her team attacking Desi, Riley, and Russ.
Ep 11: I honestly forgot about the Merchant and who he was until he mentioned the soccer game lol. They got me in the first half ngl so when they revealed that Mac was acting in the cell I was super surprised lmao. The Mac + Desi shower moment was cute but kinda awkward at the same time. Anyway I really liked the dramatic and action-packed ending and the hella smart plot twist with the fake getaway.
Ep 12: I liked the talk between Mac and Aunt Gwen in the beginning. Adding to the tension was Russ not trusting Mac which I liked and thought the writers did a good job with. Though, I thought there was going to be more corruption in the federal government (the only part I really remember was that one soldier who controlled the plane). Honestly, I liked this “dark” Mac side. It felt more new and I was so excited in this part (even though it was completely crazy). Him and Scarlett got along better than I thought and she of course was a complete badass. I mean the part where she just knocks out the guy on the BMX was so cool! I was super nervous at the end because Russ was very certain on Mac being evil and sending the missile towards the safe house. That only heightened with the soldier didn’t listen to Russ. I’m so glad Matty was there to save the day by flying the 2nd missile away. Also the underground town was hella cool.
Anyway by far my favorite part was the MacRiley moments and this definitely solidify their ship them more than Mac + Desi in my mind.(but still doesn’t justify any hate towards that ship/shippers! just respect everyone!) Anyways, it just shows that Riley knows Mac so well and trusts him a lot even when he does crazy shit like that. Them holding hands when they thought they were going to die was so cute. (I think it was a reference to episode 4 with their conversation about dying alone which I LOVE). Though to be fair I kinda feel for Desi since Mac did put up a really good act especially with the taking-the-oxygen-out-of-the-room part. Then again, she was already hesitant in supporting Mac before then. I think the thing that would have made it a little better was if Boze joined Mac and Riley.
Ep 13: I liked the flashback to Mac’s mom and Gwen during the birth of Mac. I laughed when they panned up to the billboard of the steakhouse. I was super nervous for Mac as he was talking with Leland. I got annoyed at Desi and Russ when they stopped Mac and Riley because I was frustrated how they couldn’t trust Mac. Leland blowing up the warehouse with all those agents SHOOK me. Like I understand attacking Mac, Riley, and Scarlett but I was surprised that he would kill basically the entire team. Aunt Gwen crying broke my heart and shows that she really does care for Mac along with little gestures like fixing his collar and just looking at him so lovingly. Moreover, part of me wants Scarlett to be alive somehow (which isn't possible I know) because I liked her in the short time we got to know her plus I’m a sucker for sibling relationships. After the truck scene I was sure she would help him and when his make-shift bomb was broken I knew she would be the sacrifice. The parallel between Mac’s dad and aunt sacrificing themselves for Mac hit me right in the feels (is that even a relevant saying anymore?) I was tearing up at this part. I feel so bad for Mac 😢😢😢. He had to watch 2 of his family members die for him. I am glad that he is honoring both his mom and aunt by promoting environmental legislation and it was honestly kinda hot. The conversation between Mac and Desi right before was cute but I still ship Mac + Riley whoops.
Overall: Aunt Gwen and Scarlett grew on me more than I expected. I loved the idea of Mac "turning” on the Phoenix. I am really excited for season 5!!! I can’t wait to see where the writers go from here and I can’t wait to see these characters kick more butt. :)
This is super random and a little later, but I recently stumbled upon the show “Find Me in Paris” and damn I fell in love with it. Despite having countless plotholes and historical inaccuracies, I still am addicted to watching it? Maybe it’s the chemistry between Max and Lena or Ines’s sarcasm or Jeff’s (wholesome) goofiness idk. I just hope to find a community where I can talk about it because it looks like I’m pretty late to the game about it lol. Honestly, I can’t wait to binge-watch season 3 whenever it comes out. Hopefully, the entire cast from previous seasons stay because I would cry if any of them left. Anyway that my rant about it haha.
I’m really happy that we got to see more into Riley’s past. She really stepped up in this episode. I also enjoyed the last scene between Riley and Kai. The Lasky part almost made me cry though. Also, the very last scene I hope Russ got down all the numbers because tbh I wouldn’t be able to. The idea of “can we save everyone” and “who are the white hats, black hats, and gray hats” was also interesting to say the least.
edit: forgot to mention how glad I am that Russ is there to call out Mac and his mental health. It will be interesting to see how that will go down as the season progresses...
