Feel the Beat

This movie takes a while to get going, but once it does, it's at turns touching, sweet, funny, and fun. Feel the Beat works especially well as a movie that parents can enjoy with kids. Director Elissa Down struggles in the early scenes, relying on cliches, improbabilities, and oversimplifications to establish the grumpy, self absorbed character who leaves friends and family behind to pursue her ambition. But once April starts to learn to make room for others in her life, the movie overcomes its initial shortcomings and proceeds to a finale showcasing likable characters, including several kids, played by Lydia Jewett, Eva Hauge, and Justin Caruso Allen, who teach a clueless adult what life is all about. Donna Lynne Champlin is endearing as the understanding Barb and Wolfgang Novogratz is appealing as the typecast hunk.

A few nice touches add to the likability. The group uses sign language so a deaf dance student feels included. A little boy quietly hanging out during dance class turns out to be a terrific dancer. Barb makes casseroles for anyone in town going through a challenge. All of this adds up to an overall foundation of goodness that infects even the most resistant cynic. Watch the closing credits so you don't miss a street party showing off the hidden skills of the movie's supposedly non-dancing characters. Note that at the head of the traffic jam caused by all the dancing, there is someone in the first blocked cab whose presence underscores April's progress.