Genres

Visitors Review

geoffgee 2012-05-24 16:52:26

Excellent, intelligent and enjoyable film that is well worth seeing.

I saw Make it Happen this morning and thoroughly enjoyed the film. Ifound the plot to be intelligent, original, interesting and emotionallyengaging. I thought all of the characters in some way evoked mysympathy and the standard of acting was excellent. I enjoyed theromance and felt there was real 'chemistry' in those scenes. Therewasn't as much dancing and music as I expected, but for me that didn'tmatter since I was more interested in the story. (Having said that, Ienjoyed what dancing and music there was very much!) I don't see whyanyone of a romantic nature (male or female) wouldn't thoroughly enjoythis film. It has everything I look for in a movie - and plenty of it.Highly recommended.

TheUnseenMovieLover 2012-05-24 10:03:12

An Uninspired, Dull Dance Flick

To be honest, the only reason that I went to watch this movie at thecinema was because I attend a club which involves dancing. Quite a fewof the routines that we do are based on songs or dance sequences frommovies such as Step Up. Upon seeing the trailers for Make It Happen, Ithought that I should go to see it, just in case we try a routine whichis related to the film. Still, I am likely to commend myself if I canremember most of this lacklustre movie in a couple of weeks.Lauryn (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has dreamt of being a dancer for mostof her life. However, after auditioning for the prestigious ChicagoSchool of Music and Dance and being rejected, her hopes are severelydamaged. Soon after this failure, she becomes a dancer at a burlesqueclub called Ruby's, and is a major success. However, Lauryn's familyand her dreams soon begin to clash, and she must choose between thetwo...Make It Happen contains two positive elements. The dance sequences areextremely sexy and are also packed with confident energy. In the leadrole, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is instantly likable and human. She isn'tterrific, but she is still good enough that she puts the rest of thecast (who seem to be waiting for their pay cheques) to shame.Unfortunately, apart from the dancing and Winstead's performance, themovie falls flat. The plot is utterly predictable, the writing anddirection are incredibly lazy and the pacing drags. This just feelslike an attempt to cash in on the big public response to movies such asthe High School Musical and Step Up instalments.So, my recommendation is to give this film a miss. I'm not really a fanof this type of movie, but I don't think that even hardcore fans willbe satisfied by this superficial product. If you're looking for a good,enjoyable and pure musical experience at the cinema, it's still not toolate to catch Mamma Mia!

2012-05-22 08:03:40

make it happen

this is a good movie i alway's like dancing movie's, and winstead alway's play her role good, never seen her in a movie i didin't like, the story may not be considered original by some people, but it's new it's differen't and i deffinitly like this better then coyote ugly.

DICK STEEL 2012-05-21 12:17:55

A Nutshell Review: Make It Happen

How do you approach a dance movie? I feel that the story takes a firmback seat, in providing a wafer thin excuse to string someopportunities for dancing onto the screen. Granted there are someexcellent story lines that come once in a while, but most times, you'dget the rudimentary dancer character who has to prove that he/she candance to a group of nay-sayers consisting of peers or snooty judges,fall in love, and of course to rise above all challenges to claim theprize / gain acceptance from the community.Brought to us from the writer of movies such as The Step Up and SaveThe Last Dance movies, here comes something that doesn't disappoint, inthat it sticks to formula so that you know what to expect, nothing moreor less. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who played John McClane's grown updaughter in Die Hard 4, and scream queen in Final Destination 3) takeson the mantle of the downtrodden dancer wannabe Lauryn, who felt thatshe's responsible for the family garage business, until she decides topursue her dream by leaving the small town, and head for the brightlights in the big city.Her audition with the Chicago School of Music and Dance was a completewashout, and confidence shaken, takes to the temp-ing at a loungecalled Ruby's, where she helps to cook the books. But you can bet yourlast dollar that this is the venue with which she'll fall in love, witha fellow music engineer Russ (Riley Smith), while lapping thecoincidental opportunities for her to showcase some of her moves,before becoming an established member of the pussycat dolls of dance.Story aside, which packed a wallop with superficial antsy challengesfrom established peers, an unforgiving brother who couldn't fathom herpassion, and a boyfriend who can't wait to get into her pants, coupledwith the nagging thought of failure and that she's no good for the IvyLeague school for dance, we're really here for the set dance pieces,aren't we? There aren't many of them which stood out, given that theyaren't as innovative or fused some genres together to come up with anamalgam of moves, though the character of Lauryn probably was supposedto show how an unpolished gem got to go through the paces at a club,before coming through and achieving success by her measure.And the lounge setting does provide for some sensual, provocativecostumes to drape the lithe and tall frame of Winstead's, though I hadto admit I thought her assortment of hoods, wigs and the likes providedfor some convenient cover-up for a body double to take over, until ofcourse I read that she had some background in dance. There are someroutines that I genuinely liked, but the one at the finale, whichshould be the mother of all moves in any dance movie, was the one thatseriously packed a punch, with improvisation, and a combination ofballet with hip-hop, without being too obvious or conscious about it.Yes, you've seen one you've seen them all, at least for the narrativeaspect. If you're patient to sit through the dramatic portions, you'llfind yourself cheering with the crowd when the dancers take to theplatform. Soundtrack too was nothing short of expectations, and I giveit brownie points for the inclusion of a disco retro.

sophie_so_good 2012-05-17 10:42:48

Awful (with serious spoilers)

I'm not sure where to start with this film. To start with, I wasoffended by the fact that her audition routine is criticised for notbeing 'feminine' or 'sensual' enough. However, she becomes good whenshe basically lap dances her way in. This is her great adventure. Thefilm attempts to make it seem decent and respectful to women by puttingsome cheering women in the crowd. Second, the film is basically exactly the same as 'Save the LastDance', which I enjoyed. The plot is more or less the same, without theracial issues in her area, and less convincing acting. While the plot to Step Up 2 basically fell through, the film was savedby the stunning dance routines. The dancing here was not particularlyspellbinding to tell the truth. Finally, the film is so thoroughly formulaic that I basically was ableto plan out all the events in the first 10 minutes. Girl goes toaudition but is crushed- girl is taken in by friendly girl and is givena book-keepers job- girl meets attractive boy but sees him as beingarrogant and not nice- girl makes out with attractive not nice arrogantboy- girl randomly gets on stage and everyone realises she is a star-girl realises her dreams conflict with... things- girl is sent bydomineering brother to audition- girl gets into college!!- horridbitchy person turns out to only have been trying to help her and theyare now good friends... EtcKeep your hard earned cash and go see WALL-E instead.

njmollo 2012-05-16 15:16:43

Why is it not possible to show two consecutive dance moves in one shot?

This film is trash. Pure and simple. Zombie Strippers has better dancesequences and for that matter much better editing as well.Mary Elizabeth Winstead does not convince and her rhythm and grace aretruly suspect. I think that might be one of the reasons she pulls ahoodie over her face so the double can step in.There is nothing better than seeing beautifully performed dance oncamera. Bob Fosse and Michael Jackson come to mind. They at least hadthe confidence to show dance moves in entirety without the use ofearthquake-cam and rapid cutting.There is no substitute for talent and there is none on show here.

lilmonster1 2012-05-16 00:17:37

Warning , spoilers

The film is predictable, I felt that Lauren (Mary) was not as good as alot of people made out, the other characters shone more for me,Carmen.. what an excellent version of Jessica Rabbit she makes. Rubyagain was a good dancer and a nice character. Russ (Riley Smith) wasgood as the musical director even if he did have some cheesy lines. Thestory is the same old same old, but you could not help but beentertained. It was a real shame that Lauren's second audition was nothalf as good as one of her burlesque renditions. The story was OK thedance (Burlesque) was good, Russ (Riley Smith) was great, the restsadly was mediocre.

Alan Wong 2012-05-15 16:15:22

A Glimpse Into Mary E Winstead Wholesome Qualities & Potential Stardom!

just bought the above DVD from my local video chain outlet (ie. VideoEzy) where i'm blessed to have it in my possession as my country (ie.Malaysia) has a fairly high amount of pirated DVD's products whichcauses licensed video shops to have limited movie titles...well, to start off, apparently there were some deleted scenes in themovie where the producer / director decided to remove the story of Dana(ie.Tessa Thompson) getting pregnant and subsequent miscarriage....due to this removal, i guess viewers could not fully appreciate theclose relationship between Lauryn (ie.Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Danawhich the scriptwriter wanted to relay but was unfortunately chopped…in summary, some of the movie story reflected Mary's personal real lifeexperiences such as being a ballerina when Lauryn was young, has tastefor "off-the-beaten-track" music as composed by Russ (ie. Riley Smith)and I guess due to her holding steadfast to her personal principles,there were no revealing love or kissing scenes in the movie – hurray toMary! Initially, I've watched this movie over YouTube but now with myTV, I could better appreciate Mary's expressive eyes and innocent lookswhich I guess you all guys are all infatuated to, like myself…ha..ha…happy viewing…

2012-05-13 23:16:43

Alright...

This review is from: Make It Happen (DVD) This was better the first time I saw it for free on tv, but it was a spontaneous purchase along with others.

jints7 2012-05-13 05:20:39

Total and utter rubbish!

This is by far THE worst dance movie ever to be released,in my opinionit is boring and a waste of time. I find it very hard to believe thatthe actress who plays Lauren has ever received any form of dancetraining. She lacks rhythm and skill and i have seen monkeys dancebetter! She never seems to be able to dance in time to the musiceither, always pausing or moving too fast. Very very annoying. Thestoryline is total rubbish as well. I didn't think it could get muchworse than Save the Last Dance 2 but i was clearly proved wrong withthis one. This film is not a patch on the original dance movies likeDirty Dancing and the 1st Save the Last Dance and it certainly does notdeserve to be put in the same category as these. Don' waste your timewatching it!

2012-05-06 15:38:49

A great, have you jumpin in your seat, dance movie, must see!

This review is from: Make It Happen (DVD) This movie was awesome, fast paced, well choreographed, and high energy. Amust see if you like dance, good music.

simmmz 2012-05-05 18:28:40

Does Not Make It Happen: The Story of a Wet Blanket ...

Following the success of dance spectacles such as 'Stomp The Yard','Save The Last Dance' and 'You Got Served', film goers now have 'MakeIt Happen'…but can it step up to its predecessors and dance up abox-office storm??? Like its forerunners, 'Make It Happen' follows ageneric storyline. Country gal' Lauryn (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) leaveshicks ville to pursue dancing in the big smoke…only to be bitterlydisappointed when her audition for the Chicago School of Music andDance ends up a spectacular flop. Dreams shattered, Lauryn finds workat seedy burlesque club 'Ruby's'. Here she meets disc jockey Russ(Riley Smith), where an inevitable spark is lit between the two. Prettysoon her dance career heats up also; she takes center stage, performingburlesque/hip-hop fusions to a screaming audience each night. It is at'Ruby's' where Lauryn is forced to reevaluate her dreams, her family,her life and love…taking her on the ultimate journey of self discovery…Lauryn's transformation from heavily made-up, sexy country hick toheavily made-up, sexy dancer…is nothing short of…well…nothing. Laurynis a flat, uninspired, martyr who comes across as the ultimate drip…awet blanket some might say. Winstead has a certain screen presence…yetthe script dumbs down any moments of authenticity in her performance.The supporting cast is not worth mentioning; they play it by thenumbers and it's all a very trite."But who gives a Shiite about the characters and story?" I hear yousay…"We're all watching it for the dancing!" Surely a film with such awafer thin plot and stale protagonists would compensate withbreathtaking, sexy and exhilarating dance sequences…right? WRONG. Whenthe dance sequences should be sizzling, they end up fizzling…when theyare about to pack a punch, they give the audience a floppy and limpwrist. They are competently filmed, and edited with a sense of rhythm,yet memorable moments = ZILL. The film attempts to explore the somewhatrisqué style of burlesque dance…but wants to keep a PG rating…soeverything about 'Ruby's' feels completely toned down.For a dance movie, there is very little dancing. Unfortunately thismeans the audience sits through excessive amounts of predictable dialogbefore anything remotely exciting happens. At times it almost reaches"it's so lame it's good!" status…but never quite gets there. 'Make ItHappen' really doesn't make anything happen at all…save your money andwatch highlights of So You Think You Can Dance on You Tube.

michael-3434 2012-04-30 19:11:05

Stolen

All this is is a dancing version of Coyote Ugly. Dancing is good but ifyou have watched Coyote Ugly, you already know what's about to happen.Examples: In both movies there is a colleague who is horrible to themright through the movie...In both movies there is the guy who pretends to be the manager...In both, its all about getting the auditionIn both, there is a family crisis where they both decide to abandontheir dream and run home but first have a good old fashioned dramascene where they abandon their boyfriends...Seriously, if you have watched Coyote Ugly, don't bother watching thisone.

2012-04-29 23:58:48

Make it Happen

This review is from: Make It Happen (DVD) I LOVED this movie! the Danicing is good the Story is better,The Music is good,I would like to find the Soundtrack to this movie.

fitri_small 2012-04-29 09:20:01

Enjoyable Popcorn Flick

It was no surprise that, throughout Make It Happen's 80-minutesduration, one would find this latest dance flick (helmed by occasionalmusic director, Darren Grant) riddled with the most tiresome andobnoxious clichés that the genre could offer across its existence. Yes,to be fair, the film seems to be borrowing each scene from similarlyplotted features. Yet, in one way or another, Make It Happen seems topresent all of them just that better.One of the flick's greatest and most undeniable asset would be leadMary Elizabeth Winstead, who displays some of her best work here. It'shard not to swoon for Winstead, who switches from ferocious,limb-swinging urban dancer to ingénue, down-to-earth, corn-fed smalltown girl with impressive and flawless flair. She seems born for therole, radiating an unbelievable amount of charm, and drawing life intoa well-written character. Despite having been supplied with a prosaicscript, Winstead performs admirably well, both on and offstage.Regardless of Winstead's poetic beauty, the film lacks a substantialscreenplay, and every line feels tacky and uninspired. It's safe to saythat the film is no more scripted than it is choreographed. Adler'slibretto felt unremarkably familiar, and, with or without hindsight,you could almost tell how the film will unfold before the lights dimdown. It was fortunate that the rest of the troops, though never comingclose to stealing the show (leave that to Winstead), played their -stereotypical - parts adequately, with the provocative Julissa Bermudezstanding out exiguously.The film'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 aremajorly made up of cheering females, rather than drooling guys.However, the dances are already enticing in nature, so more skin wouldnot have been necessary, but simply more effective. Speaking of, thedance sequences are entertainingly beautiful, aided with a catchysoundtrack, and as a whole, undeniably a visual and aural delight - atestament to the eyes and ears.Make It Happen is not much a film rather than a montage of energeticdance romps, connected solely by filler sequences enlaced with dramaand romance. That said, they are good sequences of drama, as Winstead'sverisimilar approach to her character enlivens each of the film'sdramatic scenes. The same cannot be said for the sequences of romancethough. Try as they might, the pairing of Winstead and Smith lackschemistry, and as a result, the film is forced to present a dullromance that you couldn't care for. It doesn't help that Smith'scharacter is near unlikable - as another critic put it - "a smarmydouche".All the same, Grant's experience in the music video industry helped alot here. Stunning cinematography entwine each scene, and the dancesequences are nothing short of being optically magnificent. Althoughthere might not be much to entertain those with a passionate dislike ofthis variety, it is nevertheless a fine installment into the dancegenre. Make It Happen passes as both a short, drama film entwined withgreat dance sequences, and an overtly long, energetic music videointerweaved with filler drama scenes. However you put it, I believeMake It Happen is still a decent film.Verdict: Darren Grant has crafted an enjoyable popcorn dance flick, animprovement over the recent additions to the genre. There's still muchroom for improvement, but Winstead's soulful performance atones formuch of the flaws. Nevertheless, its feeble screenplay and extremelypredictable fade-out could not go off easily unnoticed.

Gordon-11 2012-04-29 04:38:44

Youthful, uplifting and vibrant popcorn flick

This film is about a young woman who works against all odds towardsachieving her dream as a dancer."Make It Happen" is a predictable feel good movie. It has got all theingredients to be a cheesy film. It has trendy danceable music, cooldance moves, great looking people, the jealous enemy; even theobligatory shopping scenes! As for the plot, there is no beating aroundthe bush. Just six minutes into the film, there is already a danceaudition. The pacing is fast, but it does not feel rushed. The dancemoves are energetic and vibrant, which makes it a joy to watch."Make It Happen" gives the right youthful energy which makes viewersfeel good. It is a great popcorn flick to turn your brain off. Justforget all the clichés, sit back and enjoy it.

2012-04-24 15:51:58

mixed feelings about this one

I have to be honest, I watched this movie for 2 reasons One: a smallportion of the movie was taped in my local city. I wanted to check outhow the landmarks where used in the movie (the mechanical shop, thebridge and the club where some landmarks that I recognized), which Ishould add was done really well. Second: In the past I have enjoyeddance movies. This movie is way to similar to "Save the last Dance"basically because I have seen "Save the last Dance" I knew basicallywhat was going to happen in this movie. Besides being a copycat movie Iwould say Make it happen is an entertaining family movie but not asentertaining as Darren Grants other movies I have seen. I willrecommend this movie to my teen aged nieces as the target age would be21 and under.

Ally M. 2012-04-24 05:56:44

"Coyote Ugly" mixed with "Save the Last Dance"

As another comment here pointed it out, this movie has lots in commonwith "Coyote Ugly". But it also reminded me of "Save the Last Dance",as the main character played there also auditioned for a famous danceschool performing a dance routine that mixed classic ballet moves withmodern hip hop ones. Also in both movies the main characters have losttheir mothers (both of whom, if I remember this correctly 'cause it'sbeen a while since I saw "Save the Last Dance", are dead). I actuallylooked rapidly at a couple of comments before deciding whether to watch"Make It Happen" or not after seeing the trailer, so I knew what toexpect and I wasn't disappointed - that is because they updated themusic, changed a little the location and the style, but all in allre-proposed two stories that had already been successful in the past(so we could consider it some sort of remake). From this point of viewit wasn't that bad:P

2012-04-23 05:46:31

Save The Last Dance and Coyote Ugly met and had a baby.

I got a chance to watch this flick and enjoyed it greatly. It's best described as being in the vein of Save the Last Dance and Coyote Ugly mixed together, in that it has elements of both in it. This is actually quite interesting as I enjoyed both those, and it felt quite welcome here.The acting is just right in my opinion, though I'm pretty sure it won't win any oscars or even get nominated. It's definitely a fun movie though so if you liked Save the Last Dance, and Coyote Ugly, you may just like this movie.

2012-04-22 13:50:46

just another small town girl with dancing dreams...

'Make it Happen' is your typical tale of a small town girl named Lauryn(Mary Elizabeth Winstead) with big dreams to leave her job working at her family auto shop and become a dancer in the big city. Of course she gets to the big audition and doesn't merit one of only twenty open spots. Lauryn can't seem to make herself admit defeat, and lucky for her she meets Dana(Tessa Thompson) who not only offers to let her crash at her place, but finds her a job at Ruby's the bar she dances at. Only Lauryn doesn't get a job as a dancer, but as an accountant instead. That is until she gets her big shot when one of the girls can't dance, and she'll have to step up and just make it happen.There's not much more to say about 'Make it Happen', we've seen this movie so many times before under different names: Center Stage, Coyote Ugly, Step Up, Save the Last Dance ... the list goes on and on. When it comes down to it the acting is fine, nothing exceptional, the same goes for the dancing. There was no specific routine that blew my mind, and no fantastically redeeming qualities to speak of.(Although, I must admit Riley Smith as Lauryn's new boytoy Russ was the one thing that really kept me interested....) 'Make it Happen' is the perfect rainy day movie, grab some popcorn or hot chocolate and enjoy it for what it is, some fun, light fluff.