How She Move

The discrepancies between the way How She Move is received by Toronto versus the rest of the world will be interesting to follow. Written by York University grad Annmarie Morais, who based the script on her short documentary Steppin’ to It, How She Move is ostensibly about the culture of step-dancing in the city’s Afro-Caribbean community. It follows Raya (Rutina Wesley), a smart young woman attending an elite private high school in Richmond Hill, who is forced to return to her Jane-Finch home, where she learns the importance of tempering ambition with ethnic tradition.

But How She Move is something else, too. It is, right down to its silly Ebonics title, an MTV Films–produced piece of pop fluff, coming hot on the heels of oodles of similar urban dance movies: Step Up, Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, etc. It’s an exploitation flick—something made to cater to a highly defined demographic (in this case, teenaged girls) who will consume it regardless of quality. As such, How She Move simply cannot be taken seriously as cultural commentary; even its earnest messages (succeeding on your own terms, respecting the importance of family) are among its genre’s most hackneyed trappings.

That said, How She Move is, as a vapid product, quite digestible. Its look is remarkable, actually; every scene is vibrantly colour-coded, right down to Raya’s eye-popping pink crocheted hat. Wesley’s performance, along with that of Tre Armstrong, who plays her rival, is terribly unsubtle, but has an insane, bombastic sparkle to it, à la Diana Ross in Mahogany or Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls. How She Move is camp, then. And though it might want to show the real Rayas of this city that they need to stand up for themselves, it’ll likely end up providing them with some good, hearty giggles. WAIT FOR THE REPS

How She Move is now playing at the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto (259 Richomond St. W.) and Silvercity Newmarket (18151 Yonge St.).