Feel the Beat is one of the latest offerings by Netflix in the musical/comedy/drama category. It’s directed by Elissa Down and stars Sofia Carson, Enrico Colantoni and Wolfgang Novogratz.
I did not have very high hopes for this one, and honestly, it isn’t going to be the next Oscar entry. But hey, that’s actually pretty fine. Inspite of having no big names, or not making the biggest of waves, Feel the Beat is extremely entertaining, unlike some of Netflix’s recent big-budget endeavours.
Not trying to be something it’s not
Feel the Beat mainly focuses on April, a dancer, who is everything no one should aspire to be. She’s a great dancer, sure, but she’s self-centred to the brim and cares about no one other than herself. Her habit gets her on the bad side big-shot Ruth Zimmer, who gets her evicted from Broadway. She then travels to her hometown where she takes on the responsibility of teaching a group of kids for a big competition – but for her own selfish reasons. However, things turn around for her in the end.
As I said earlier, the movie isn’t going to break the internet or anything. But it gets points from me for being extremely entertaining. Be it the amazing kids and their great performances to the very nice people of New Hope. It’s a fun and heart-warming ride throughout that keeps you smiling and thoroughly entertained.
Feel the Beat is absolutely linear. One thing leads to another and so on. But that’s okay. Sometimes we need movies like this to relax to. Honestly, I still watch Dirty Dancing and Pretty Woman all the time when I need to chill. This one isn’t at par with those, by any means, but it’s not terrible either. It’s fun, entertaining and heartfelt – and that’s what we need in movies sometimes.
Good character arc
As the main character, April has a good character arc in Feel the Beat. When the movie opens, she’s self-centred and has a really annoying attitude. She puts everyone around her down and hurts the kids’ feelings. She lies to the kids about what happened in Broadway and uses them to further her career. And it’s not that she was always like this. There’s some indication that her mother leaving her made her like this (or something), but we don’t really get too deep into it. Which honestly, is fine. Her bitterness at first made me wonder why we are expected to root for someone like this.
And she dumped her boyfriend over a text. So well, not a good look.
However, as the story moves forward, we see a positive change in her. It’s not like the audience didn’t expect that, but well. she starts liking the kids more and things seem to be looking up for her. Until it doesn’t. For a moment I thought, did she actually fool everyone so well? But no, it’s predictable. But that doesn’t make it less heart-warming. It honestly is a good, fun ending and her character does a good job at giving the kids (and the audience) hope.
With that in mind, Sofia Carson does a great job as April. She shows the bad and the good side of April with much honesty. So is newcomer Wolfgang Novogratz as Nick. His dimpled smile and likeable acting make a good impact on the movie.
But the star of Feel the Beat are honestly the kids. Great acting and equally commendable dancing skills, especially from the little ones – Dicky and Zuzu. Dicky is so adorable! I just smiled whenever he came on screen. The older ones, especially Kari and Sarah, bind the group together and are a great addition.
So is Donna Lynne Champlin’s Mrs Barb, the over-the-top teacher. She’s cheesy and loud but has the biggest heart.
Summing up: Feel the Beat
Feel the Beat is a feel-good movie that is worth a watch. It gives a good message to follow your heart but also be true to who you are. April’s father Frank drives that home in a heart-warming scene. It doesn’t bore you and doesn’t annoy you too much. If nothing, give it a watch for the kid actors. They are really worth it.
Feel the Beat is streaming on Netflix.