Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
A talented young woman dreams of becoming a dancer, and while working as a hip-hop instructor at a neighborhood center, also works at a nightclub as a bartender and at a record store. Her aspirations are threatened however when her mentor tries to force her into a sexual relationship. With Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Joy Bryant, L'il Romeo and Lil' Romeo. Directed by Bille Woodruff. [1:44]
SEX/NUDITY 5 - A man makes advances toward a woman, then tries to kiss her, she rebuffs him and slaps him hard on the face. A man and a woman kiss a few times, and a man kisses a woman on the cheek. A man and a woman hug. Men admire a woman as she walks by in a few scenes. Two women talk about a man wanting sex, and a woman thinks a man is trying to pick her up at a nightclub. A woman says to another woman, "It sounds like somebody wants to dip his fingers in the honey jar." Throughout the movie people dance in provocative ways (thrusting and undulating hips, wrapping themselves around each other, caressing their bodies) and in various amounts of clothing (revealing cleavage, bare abdomen, bare back to the hip, bare thighs), sometimes in club settings, sometimes in a classroom environment and other times in music videos. A woman dances with a man, wraps her knee around his waist, thrusts her hips, turns around, and bends over with him behind her. We see a gay bar scene with transvestites dressed in show clothes. We see several men in shorts with leather straps around their bare chests.
VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - A man makes advances toward a woman, then tries to kiss her, she rebuffs him and slaps him hard on the face. We hear that a man has hit a boy in the mouth (we see the boy with a bloody lip). Two women shove each other and exchange insults, and one grabs the other by the hair (we hear a crunch). A boy steals another boy's sneakers in a dark subway car. A man gets angry, shoves pool balls on a table, yells at a woman and appears threatening. A man yells at a woman and threatens her, and a woman yells at another woman. A woman trips on stairs and falls (no injuries).
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Dreams, disappointment, betrayal, friendship, ambition, doing the right thing, success.
MESSAGE - Money can't buy happiness and success is not measured by how much money you make.
(Note: People drink alcohol in many scenes, and people (including a boy) are shown selling drugs. There is talk about doing drugs and the money that can be made in drug dealing.)
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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