Review of Make It Happen (2008) by Aya A — 01 Mar 2009

It was no surprise that, throughout Make It Happen's 80-minutes duration, one would find this latest dance flick (helmed by occasional music director, Darren Grant) riddled with the most tiresome and obnoxious clichés that the genre could offer across its existence.

The movie seems to be borrowing each scene from similarly plotted features. Yet, in one way or another, Make It Happen seems to present all of them just that better. One of the flick's greatest and most undeniable asset would be lead Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who displays some of her best work here.

She seems born for the role, radiating an unbelievable amount of charm, and drawing life into a well-written character. Despite having been supplied with a prosaic script, Mary Elizabeth Winstead performs admirably well, both on and offstage.

Regardless of Mary Elizabeth Winstead's poetic beauty, the movie lacks a substantial screenplay, and every line feels tacky and uninspired. It's safe to say that the movie is no more scripted than it is choreographed.

It was fortunate that the rest of the troops, though never coming close to stealing the show, played their - stereotypical - parts adequately, with the provocative Julissa Bermudez standing out exiguously.

The movie's lack of flesh on show is an affront to the cast's sensual, slinky sex appeal, and it is hard to find that the clubgoers are majorly made up of cheering females, rather than drooling guys.

However, the dances are already enticing in nature, so more skin would not have been necessary, but simply more effective. Speaking of, the dance sequences are entertainingly beautiful, aided with a catchy soundtrack, and as a whole, undeniably a visual and aural delight - a testament to the eyes and ears.

Make It Happen is not much a movie rather than a montage of energetic dance romps, connected solely by filler sequences enlaced with drama and romance. Darren Grant's experience in the music video industry helped a lot here.

Stunning cinematography entwine each scene, and the dance sequences are nothing short of being optically magnificent. Although there might not be much to entertain those with a passionate dislike of this variety, it is nevertheless a fine installment into the dance genre.

Make It Happen passes as both a short, drama movie entwined with great dance sequences, and an overtly long, energetic music video interweaved with filler drama scenes.