Hope Dances

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Avarose D This movie is great for aspiring young dancers and teens that are deciding what their dreams are and how to follow them. The story follows a young girl who grows in her aspirations in dance, her relationship with her family, and her empathy with friends. I think this is a great watch for families and people wanting to learn more about the world of dance and what it takes! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/17/24 Full Review Larry H Watched with grandchildren and we all enjoyed the movie. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/14/24 Full Review Audience Member A family movie that all ages can enjoy. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/14/24 Full Review Carolyn G What a sweet and inspirational movie for the whole family! It is so thought-provoking and entertaining! And the star (Hope) is adorable! This is definitely a must-see!!! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review James O What a great movie to sit and watch with family. Very positive and motivating for kids/young teens: Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review Hope V I was at a family friend's house and we were scrolling on Prime for a movie when I saw a movie with my name in the title so we clicked on it and watched it. The movie starts with the eleven-year-old protagonist Hope. She does both Ballet and Softball. Her mom forced her to do ballet because she fell in love with it and made sure to work with Hope on it to the point where she became great at it. Her dad forced her to play softball and worked with Hope on it to the point where she could be on an all-star team. Both of her parents argue about which sport Hope should do and this upsets Hope. This seemed like a great plot for the movie, with her finding herself, maybe even having a scene where she can't take it anymore and quits both, but no. She tries to work her hardest at both but it doesn't seem too possible, to the point where she announces to her dad that she is quitting softball to focus on ballet. The dad asks her "So you're just gonna be a quitter?" which is HORRIBLE parenting and we don't get anything else about softball from there. He has a quick apology scene and then takes dance classes with Hope's mom to make up for it. The original plot could have made this a great movie, but then they had to focus on only ballet. I guess we should've known from the spoiler in the title "Hope Dances." Then we are introduced to Hope's best friend Kayla. Hope and Kayla both participate in ballet, but Kayla isn't as good as Hope. They sign up for the Ballet duet competition which could get the girls into an elite dance studio, which could also get them into the Nutcracker. Hope also starts hanging out with Dani, and they are both the top 2 dancers in their class. Dani says things like "I wish we could be duet partners," which could lead to Kayla feeling betrayed that Hope is finding new friends instead. This would work for a great plot device, but no. Kayla gets in a car accident! This is literally out of nowhere and Kayla's parents are somehow unaffected. Kayla may never be able to do ballet again, but Hope feels it's wrong to find a different dance partner for the upcoming Duet competition. Kayla's mom walks up to Hope and says "It's time for Kayla to accept her fate, she won't dance again," basically telling Hope to back off. At the duet competition, Hope comes out with Kayla (who is now in a wheelchair) and decides she still wants to dance with her. Unfortunately, Kayla can only do arm moves and such since she cannot dance anymore. The judges state they cannot accept Hope due to her friend's condition and ask her to dance solo (even though they saw everything she was doing already.) So Hope and Dani eventually get into the elite dance studio. The dance coach pulls Hope aside and tells her to wait until next year to audition since she isn't ready. At the studio, Hope finds her ballet idol and invades her privacy. Hope watches her idol, which makes her idol uncomfortable and Hope says "If you help me with my audition, I'll do anything." The idol is probably thinking "Finally, this girl can stop stalking me" and helps Hope. Now, at the original dance studio, people had said that Dani would probably get the lead role of Clara in The Nutcracker. After everyone auditions, Dani doesn't even get into the production even though there are many roles. Hope gets the lead role of Clara even though Dani is slightly better than Hope, which you can see in the scene where they both make the same move side by side. They are both new to this studio, so it seems outrageous for them to even have a chance at being Clara. When driving to the studio for Hope's debut, there is traffic and the family cannot make it. How do they overcome this obstacle? Hope's dad calls his friend to take them into a helicopter! So realistic, right? I laughed out loud retelling that scene to my dad. At the end of the production, we can see Dani clapping in the audience. Now, as I said earlier, there are many roles in the Nutcracker. If the two girls are almost equally as good, how did one get the lead and the other not get cast at all? It just doesn't make sense. There are positive things about this movie. All of the characters are played by great actors, and all the dancers are very well-trained. However, the bad outlines the good. A movie that could've had a great plot switched gears a quarter through the movie and took a turn for the worse. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/02/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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