Chris_Pandolfi

(2013-05-17 04:30:02)

Dance, Boys! Dance!

You really do have to wonder where certain filmmakers' heads are atwhen they conceive of a movie. "Battlefield America" is the mostpreposterous, exploitive, cloying, artificial film of its kind since"Standing Ovation." Written and directed by Chris Stokes, it'sessentially of the junior division of his own "You Got Served," whichis to say that it tells the story of competing dance crews made upalmost entirely of children. Not only is this grossly implausible, it'salso incredibly disturbing; by replacing adult dancers with kids in theten-to-twelve age range, Stokes has created a spectacle no less bizarreand fetishistic than a child beauty pageant. That most of them are boysinstructed by male dancers only makes it even more unsettling,especially since a select few of the crew members are effeminate anddressed androgynously.All leads to the dance competition the film takes its title from, whichis held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. During the finale, we'remade aware that some of the screaming audience members are the dancers'parents. This begs the question: Where were these parents when theirkids were performing in one of the film's several music-video likedance sequences, all of which take place in secluded back alleys andabandoned basketball courts and are presided over by shady thugstereotypes? One also wonders if there are enough preteens in the cityof Los Angeles that could believably dance in a street crew, or evencomprise the sum total of the huddled spectators cheering them on. Foreverything Stokes tried to achieve, one of the most basic should havebeen an idea that was at the very least plausible.When the film isn't objectifying its child stars in dance routines thatget increasingly difficult to tell apart, it forces us to endure a plotso manufactured and sickly sweet that it could easily be printed on theback of a Mrs. Butterworth's bottle. We meet Sean Lewis (MarquesHouston), a successful advertising executive who's on the verge ofbeing made one of the partners. The night he celebrates his promotionis the same night he gets pulled over and arrested for a DUI. Hisattorney is able to pull a few strings and get a jail sentence reducedto community service. And so he reports to a local community center,where the director, the lovely Ms. Parker (Lynn Whitfield), gives himthe option of being a mentor to a group of boys who are the laughingstock of the street dancing scene. Sean wants nothing to do with them.He hates children. And initially, the feeling is mutual.Already, you can see the wheels turning. The film will not only beabout the freeing and redemptive power of dance, it will also be abuddy story, where Sean learns to open his heart and not be somaterialistic. He becomes especially close with a boy named Eric Smith(Tristen M. Carter), whose sass talking masks hurt over a drug-addictedmother and a father who abandoned him. As all this is beingestablished, Stokes works in a puppy-love romance between Eric and Ms.Parker's niece, Chantel (Chandler Kinney), who speaks softly, smilesbeautifully, and delivers flowery dialogue that would have been bettersuited for a second-tier greeting card. And, of course, Sean and Ms.Parker will inevitably fall in love. All of this happens only becausethat's what convention requires. Absolutely nothing happensorganically.Meanwhile, Sean, who is admittedly not a dancer, takes it upon himselfto train Eric and his friends for numerous dance auditions, which thenleads to the Battlefield America competition. They're repeatedlyconfronted in public places by a rival dance crew led by Hank "TheShockwave" Adams (Christopher Michael Jones). It's one thing to haveinfluence over a group of adults, but when you knowingly brainwash agroup of boys into being bullies, you have officially crossed intodangerous territory. Shockwave and his crew are the current reigningchampions of Battlefield America, which should already tell youeverything you need to know about how the movie ends.I take that back. Stokes also works in scenes with Sean's stuffy boss,a hardened prosecution attorney, a mom who refuses to let her son danceat the competition, and the sudden reappearance of Eric's father. Tosay that the finale wraps everything up a neat little package would bea massive understatement. Never have I witnessed a more miraculousturnaround, especially with such a large group of characters. It's badenough that there is not one iota of truth in "Battlefield America"; toturn child actors into hapless victims of the plot is just plaininexcusable. Stokes objectifies them, I suspect more to satisfy his ownpersonal filmmaking desires than for the sake of entertaining theaudience. This is a shamefully phony movie – one of the year's worst.-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

Earl Emmanuel Enfj

(2013-05-16 18:27:38)

It was cute

It was cute... I mean Chris stokes in my opinion is a terrible writer, and MarquesHouston we all know isn't the smartest tool in the shed... I don't meanto be so harsh on them for I grew up loving sister sister and immature,and I have a guilty pleasure for you got served and even as clichГѓВ© andpoorly written that movie was it became one of my favorites Chris stokes is a decent directer/producer but I beg that he letsomebody else write for him, and I hope it is no one that is a part ofhis R&B discovery squad with the exception for maybe Brandy. The plot was unoriginal. It was the Mighty Ducks with dancing. Thedialogue was terrible. The actors were high and low some were over thetop and some just weren't trying hard enough. With that said the talentof the kid dancers made this movie go from 2 stars to 4 stars. Theykilled it, and made it worth the watch. I decided to add one more starfor good production.