Make It Happen Review

08-08-2008 11:27

Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Tessa Thompson, Riley Smith, Ashley Roberts (II)

Dir: Darren Grant

Rating: 3/5

Haling from a small town in Indiana Lauryn has aspirations to be a dancer spurred on by the memory of her dancer mother she auditions for the Chicago School of Music and Dance, despite her brother's doubts that she would be excepted.

After a disastrous audition, failing to impress the panel with her hoodie-clad dance routine, Lauryn cannot face the humiliation of returning home and finds herself working in a burlesque bar in the city.

The club proves to be a place of conflict and self-discovery, helping Lauryn to realize that even though plans may change, dreams never do.

Straight away people will recognise the almost identical plot-line to Coyote Ugly where Piper Perabo, an aspiring singer, finds herself working in a New York bar while here aspiring dancer finds herself working in a Chicago bar.

Unfortunately for many fans of this genre of film Make It Happen is totally predictable as well as being cliched we really have seen it all before.

However Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a rising star and her charm and screen presence really does help this movie in a major way. The stage routines are well choreographed but they will not wow like Step Up for example.