Movie Review: “Dance Flick”

Seen on: May 22, 2009

The players: Director: Damien Wayans, Writers: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Craig Wayans, Damien Wayans Cast: Damon Wayans Jr. , Craig Wayans, Shoshana Bush, Essence Atkins, Affion Crockett

Facts of interest: The Wayans also brought you "White Chicks."

The plot: Small-town girl Megan heads to Musical High School, where she falls in love and gets ro fulfill her dream and dance.

Our quick thoughts: The Wayans brothers are back in action on the big screen, and this time, they spend about 83 minutes spoofing all kinds of dance flicks, including “Save the Last Dance,” “Step Up” and “Stomp the Yard.” But is it a good spoof? And most importantly, is it funny?

Let me put it this way: “Dance Flick” is definitely not as horrible as I expected. And trust me, I sure expected the worst. The film is by no means good or memorable, but I admit some of the Wayans’ jokes actually made me laugh. I know it’s hard to believe, but some of their silliness in this thing is in fact so absurd, it’s rather amusing.

The story couldn’t be of lesser importance, but here is a brief synopsis anyway: after the death of her mother, small-town girl Megan (Shoshana Bush) attends the Musical High School, where she meets and falls in love with Thomas (Damon Wayans Jr.), a young dancer who’s got a big debt to pay.

The funny thing about “Dance Flick” is that the film’s dance spoof moments are not necessarily its most amusing moments. Heck, some of the gags I mildly enjoyed even had nothing to do with dancing. From an okay “Twilight” reenactment to a couple of silly scenes involving Shawn Wayans and a baby, this movie does boast a few refreshing scenes.

Alas, the good fails to outweigh the bad in “Flick,” and most of the plot remains superficial and flat-out ridiculous and stupid. The dialogue couldn’t be cheaper, most of the film’s humor fails to really impress, and even the empty characters and performances fall flat. Some of this stuff is indeed funny, but most of it tanks.

Freaky quote: “Okay, let's do this!" – Damon Wayans Jr.

The final word: “Dance Flick” is most definitely better than recent spoofs such as the crappy “Disaster Movie” and “Meet the Spartans,” but it still fails to offer audiences the deliciousness of classics such as “The Naked Gun” series. But even though I wasn’t as bored as I thought I’d be, I still think the spoof genre should take a couple of years off.

Article by Franck Tabouring