''Dance Flick'' is a 2009 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Damien Dante Wayans in his directorial debut and written by and starring many members of the Wayans family. The film was set for release in the United States on February 6, 2009, and changed to May 22, 2009.

Plot

Suburban girl Megan White ( Shoshana Bush) gets into a series of misadventures when she moves to the inner-city and pursues dance. A nerdy street boy named Thomas Uncles ( Damon Wayans Jr.) is passionate about street dancing, but he is stuck working for a gang lord (

David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on ''Damon (TV series), Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmic ...

). Megan later befriends Thomas' ghetto sister Charity (

Essence Atkins Essence Uhura Atkins (born February 7, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career appearing on television sitcoms, before her regular role on the short-lived first African-American prime-time drama '' Under One Roof'' (CBS, 1995). Atkins ...

) who has a baby and poor parenting skills. Charity has her own issues dealing with her dimwitted "baby daddy" (

Shawn Wayans Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Along with his brother Marlon Wayans, he wrote and starred in The WB's sitcom '' The Wayans Bros.''(1995–1999) and in the comedy films '' Don't Be ...

) who also is a bad parent. Once Megan and Thomas spend more time together, they become dance partners and begin to fall in love.

Cast

* Shoshana Bush as Megan White * Damon Wayans Jr. as Thomas Uncles *

as Charity Uncles *

Affion Crockett Affion Crockett (born August 12, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. Early life Crockett was raised in Germany and Fayetteville, North Carolina. Career Crockett appeared in HBO's '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1996, demonstrating his impression ...

as A-Con *

as Baby Daddy *

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both '' The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and '' The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

as Ms. Cameltoé *

as Sugar Bear * Chelsea Makela as Tracy Transfat *

Chris Elliott Christopher Nash Elliott (born May 31, 1960) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He appeared in comedic sketches on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1988), created and starred in the comedy series '' Get a Life'' (1990–1992) ...

as Ron White (Megan's Dad) * Brennan Hillard as Jack *

Lochlyn Munro Lochlyn Munro (born February 12, 1966) is a Canadian actor. His most notable film roles include '' A Night at the Roxbury'' (1998), ''Scary Movie'' (2000), '' Freddy vs. Jason'' (2003), '' White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Predator'' (2018) and '' ...

as The Coach (Jack's Dad) *

Christina Murphy The fourth season of '' America's Next Top Model'' aired in spring 2005, with the shooting location being moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The catchphrase of the season was "Dive In." These were the last appearances of Janice Dickinson a ...

as Nora *

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Wayans began his career portraying a pedestrian in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988). He went on to regularly collaborate with his brother Shawn W ...

as Mr. Moody * Kim Wayans as Ms. Dontwannabebothered *

Keenen Ivory Wayans Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans (born June 8, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and the creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy ...

as Mr. Stache * Craig Wayans as Truck * Ross Thomas as Tyler Gage * George Gore II as

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Tichina Arnold Tichina Rolanda Arnold (; born June 28, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She began her career as a child actor, appearing in supporting roles in ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986) and '' How I Got into College'' (1989) before being cast as ...

as Aretha Robinson (Ray's Mamma) * Lauren Bowles as Glynn White (Megan's Mom) * Sufe Bradshaw as Keloid * Andrew McFarlane as D * Casey Lee as Undercover Cop * Chaunté Wayans as Free Gas Pedestrian

Release

On the opening weekend (May 22–24), the film ranked at No. 5 in the top 10 with $10,643,536 in 2,450 theaters.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, a

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

, reports that 18% of 95 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 3.49/10. The site's consensus reads: "''Dance Flick'' scores a few laughs thanks to the Wayans brothers' exuberance, but it's ultimately a scattershot collection of gags without much direction." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it got a 40/100 "mixed or average" score based on 17 critic reviews. Peter Deburge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that it "delivers just enough laughs to justify its existence".

Parodies

* '' Footloose'' * ''

Chappelle's Show ''Chappelle's Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedians Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show and starring in the majority of its sketches. Chappelle, Brennan, and Michele Armour were th ...

'' (I'm Rick James, Bitch During the Dance Audition to ''

Super Freak "Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, '' Street Songs'' (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "F ...

'') * ''

Save the Last Dance ''Save the Last Dance'' is a 2001 American teen dance film produced by MTV Films, directed by Thomas Carter and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas as a teenage interracial couple in Chic ...

'' (characters and main plotline; promotional poster) * ''

You Got Served ''You Got Served'' is a 2004 American dance drama film written and directed by Chris Stokes, who was also the business manager of the performers who were the film's main characters: recording artist Marques Houston and the boy band B2K. The p ...

'' (the first battle in the movie/the character of Sugar Bear and the fact that Thomas and A-Con owe him money by the end of the next week or else) * ''

Stomp the Yard ''Stomp the Yard'' is a 2007 American dance drama film produced by Rainforest Films and released through Sony Pictures' Screen Gems division on January 12, 2007. Directed by Sylvain White, ''Stomp the Yard'' centers on DJ Williams, a college s ...

'' (the head slip at the beginning and last battle) * '' Step Up'' (Nora's auditioning dancers) * ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend ...

'' (the warm-up) * '' Step Up 2: The Streets'' (last battle) * ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' (Tracy Transfat) * ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Housema ...

'' (cut from final print) * ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' (cut from final print, can be briefly seen in international trailer) * ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film s ...

'' (Megan's audition to "

") * ''

Final Destination 2 ''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis. The screenplay was written by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and series creator Jeffrey Reddick. It is the seq ...

'' (the scene where Megan's mom was in a crash) * '' How She Move'' (cut from final print) * ''

Showgirls ''Showgirls'' is a 1995 erotic drama pulp noir film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film stars Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, Gina Gershon, Glenn Plummer, Robert Davi, Alan Rachins, and Gina Ravera. Produce ...

'' * '' Black Snake Moan'' (the scene where Megan is chained to the radiator and Thomas looks like, and quotes the Samuel L. Jackson character) * ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, ...

'' (the character of Jack wanting to be a dancer, the name of the high school, and the basketball scene in the gym.) * '' Fame'' (Jack's ''Flame'' sequence) * ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

'' (mentioned in rant) * '' Bring It On'' * '' Center Stage'' (dance class scene) * ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this ...

'' (the prom scene) * ''

Roll Bounce ''Roll Bounce'' is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written by Norman Vance Jr. and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. The film stars hip hop artist Bow Wow as the leader of a roller skating crew in 1970s Chicago. The film also stars Nick Cannon, Mea ...

'' (mentioned in rant; last battle scene) * '' Notorious'' * ''

Superbad ''Superbad'' is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow. The film stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about to graduate from high school. Before gr ...

'' (Megan's ID card identifies her as "McLovin") * ''

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she ...

'' (the scene when Megan's mom gets run over/hit and run) * '' Ray'' (the blind guy named Ray Charles and his mom) * ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and other ...

'' (the "And I Am Telling You My Belly's Growling" song) * ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American fantasy romance film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Anthony ...

'' (Edward "Trigger"-hands) * ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was d ...

'' (when Megan's dad shows her room) * ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch s ...

'' (the car crash) * ''

America's Best Dance Crew ''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', was an American competitive dance reality television series that features both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former '' ...

'' * '' Coyote Ugly'' * ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

'' * ''

ATL ATL may refer to: Places * Atlanta, a city in the U.S. state of Georgia ** Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (IATA airport code) ** Peachtree station (Amtrak station code) * Attleborough railway station, located in Norfolk, Engl ...

'' * ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written b ...

'' (the two cowboys in the gay song) * '' Roots'' (Mr. Moody's film)

References

External links

* * * *
Shawn and Damien Wayans: The ''Dance Flick'' interview with Kam Williams
{{Keenen Ivory Wayans 2009 films 2000s dance films 2000s musical comedy films 2000s parody films 2000s teen comedy films American dance films American musical comedy films American parody films American teen comedy films 2000s English-language films African-American comedy films Films set in Manhattan Films set in New York City 2000s hip hop films MTV Films films Paramount Pictures films 2009 directorial debut films 2009 comedy films 2000s American films