Director: Jillian Clare
Writer: Susan Bernhardt, Jillian Clare (Screenplay)
Starring: Laura Krystine, Brisa Lalich, Jayden Bartels, Veronica St Clair, Marie Wilson, Lilly Melger, Martha Madison
Plot: To The Beat follows 14 year old twins Mia and Mackie Castillo – dancers since they were toddlers. Beginning at just three years old, that’s been their one true passion. They support each other through competitions and rehearsals, even though they dance different styles. Mia loves tap and Mackie loves jazz. When their favorite pop star launches an online contest to find the most unique dance group for his next music video, the twins each form their own team to compete for the chance to dance in the video – enlisting their friends and family to help gain online votes. Meanwhile, their arch rival and neighbor, Avery, the best dancer of all (who knows it too) uses her charm and resources to get the upper hand in the competition.
Tagline – Dance for Love or Dance to Win
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Feel Good Family Film
Story: To the Beat starts when popstar Chris Trousdale (a real singer that I have never heard off) announces he is holding a contest for his latest video, teenage twins Mackie (Kystrine) and Mia (Lalich) believe they can make an impact, while rival neighbor and spoilt girl Avery (Bartels) goes full Veronica Salt (Yes, this is a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reference) to get her chance.
With the twins having different dance techniques they compete in a friendly rivalry, while Avery is pushing people around like always, as the teenage girls battle for their dream.
Thoughts on To the Beat!
Characters – Mackie is one half of the twins, her dance style is jazz based, Mia the other half of the twins with her dance style of choice being tap. The two support each other in this contest and their own personal struggles of dealing with life after their father’s death, with their older sister and mother being their examples when it comes to chasing dreams. The two girls are perfect match without showing us any individual strengths or weaknesses. Avery is the Veronica Salt figure, she has always got what she wants, bossy and demanding throughout the film, she does get the funniest reactions with her behavior.
Performances – The performances from the cast are good, Laura Krystine and Brisa Lalich as the twins get to show off dance techniques with both having different styles, they do have to handle moments of seriousness which they do handle well. Jayden Bartels will make you never want to have teenage daughters, this is because of the performance, she handles the character you are meant to hate with ease, that does need praising. It has to be said the girls in the groups are great performers and the actors playing the parents and families are good too.
Story – The story follows 3 young teenage girls that love dance, that create teams to compete to be the dancers in a pop star’s latest video. This does show how competition can bring sisters closer and drive a rival into the selfish way. It shows us how coming together through struggles can bring light to life for the family that always got pushed to follow the dreams. There would be flaws here, we have teams, but we don’t learn about the rest of the teams, which should be just as important to what they are achieving.
Comedy/Family – The film will get you laughing throughout, mostly for how Avery reacts to anything happening to her, this does have all the feelings of a family film and the idea of coming together when needed.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show how the families are together in their support, the dance studios and the stage for the final battle is what you expect to see.
Scene of the Movie – Final performance.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not learning about the rest of the team, even the names of the characters would have been nice, as they are chasing the same dream.
Final Thoughts – This is a film that you can see your teenage daughter loving, it does have wonderful dance routines and a coming together when one family needed it, encourages the idea of enjoying yourself while chasing your dreams and doing everything to take that one chance which comes your way.
Overall: Family dance film that will make you smile.
Rating
