Feel the Beat: Dance 7, Script 3

Feel the Beat (2020) • View trailer 
Three stars. Rated TV-G, and suitable for all ages
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 7.17.20

For the most part, this is a Hallmark TV movie with delusions of grandeur, having debuted instead on Netflix.

When April (Sofia Carson, left) agrees to coach her small town's young dancers, the
girls in question don't realize they're about to face a prima donna drill sergeant tackling
this challenge for her own selfish reasons.

It’s saved from sentimentality overload solely due to its feisty kid supporting cast, and a few nice touches in the otherwise formulaic and wholly predictable script from Michael Armbruster and Shawn Ku.

Director Elissa Down brings nothing to the party; her approach is unremarkably bland from the first frame to the last. Even during the rare moments of something approaching dramatic conflict, the atmosphere is relentlessly bubbly and cheerful.

Many of the adults here don’t feel like real people; they’re closer to TV sitcom constructs. Notable exceptions include the always dependable Enrico Colantoni, best remembered as Veronica Mars’ gumshoe father, and similarly cast here as our protagonist’s father; and Brandon Kyle Goodman, who displays solid comic timing as a flamboyant Broadway costume designer.

The kids, happily, are a different story. They’re a lively mix of sizes, appearances and attitudes, ranging from 7 to 13 years of age; they credibly inhabit characters who, if not granted much depth, are sketched deftly enough to be distinctive; we have no trouble telling them apart, and each gets numerous opportunities to shine.

Star Sofia Carson, an appealing Disney Channel discovery looking to expand her horizons, delivers what little the script demands of her; she can’t be blamed for a director and writers who don’t show much imagination. (I’ve long felt that scripts which don’t give their characters last names — as is the case here — tend to lack depth.)

The story begins in New York, where talented but self-centered dancer April (Carson) rudely steals a cab en route to an audition; naturally, the person left behind turns out to be the director for whom she’s auditioning. Said individual, justifiably furious, has the power to blackball April. And uses it.

Days later, with no other options, April returns to her small Wisconsin hometown of New Hope, with her metaphorical tail between her legs. Her sympathetic father says all the right things, with the mildly acerbic edge that Colantoni delivers with such eye-twinkling élan. 

The Half of It: A complete joy

The Half of It (2020) • View trailer 
Four stars. Rated PG-13, and too harshly, for fleeting profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.8.20

Writer/director Alice Wu’s The Half of It is a charming, high school-oriented riff on Edmond Rostand’s ageless Cyrano de Bergerac.

Ellie (Leah Lewis) can't believe the embarrassingly clumsy prose that Paul (Daniel Diemer)
expects will impress a girl that he has worshipped from afar.

The Netflix original’s sharp script is matched by a talented young cast, with the bonus of a setting that’s far more picturesque and romantic than most: Squahamish, a small rural town in tree-laden Washington state. (That said, filming actually took place in and around numerous small communities in upstate New York.)

Ellie (Leah Lewis, a familiar presence on TV’s Nancy Drew) — shy, lonely and ferociously smart — supplements the family income by “ghosting” homework papers for classmates. They gratefully pay top dollar but otherwise ignore her.

Money is tight because Ellie’s father (Collin Chou) has been in a depressed funk since the unexpected death of his wife. They immigrated from China to take advantage of America’s greater opportunities; he became the Squahamish train station master.

But now he rarely ventures out of the house; Ellie even handles the station signals every day, when trains pass. She cares attentively for her father, and they bond while watching old movies; conversation, minimal to begin with, always ceases during his favorite “good parts.”

Ellie cherishes a childhood photo, taken alongside her mother.

One random day, while bicycling home from school, Ellie is stopped by Paul (Daniel Diemer), a jock who towers above all the other students. (He’s 6-foot-5!) He’s sweet on Aster (Alexxis Lemire), one of the school’s cutest girls, but worries that his clumsily written “introductory letter” won’t send the proper message; knowing of Ellie’s writing skill, he hopes she can give it a better spin.

Right away, props to Paul for writing an actual physical letter, rather than sending a text. As we’ll soon see — despite his hulking appearance and tongue-tied, aw-shucks manner — Paul has more emotional intelligence and maturity than anybody else in this story. Diemer is absolutely perfect in the role, exuding just the right blend of kindness, compassion and salt-of-the-earth integrity.