Netflix's 'Work It': Review

Sabrina Carpenter leads this charming, funny and very fulfilling teen dance comedy to the crown as Netflix's best original movie to date 

Sabrina Carpenter and the cast of 'Work It' (CREDIT: Netflix)

                       by Jack Linsdell

Netflix may win the title for "most popular streaming service", but it's never cemented itself as a company that produces top-quality original content. That's especially true when it comes to original movies. But, if their new coming-of-age/dance-comedy Work It is anything to go by, then perhaps things are starting to change for the streaming platform. 

Laura Terruso's terrific teen dance flick does not feel like a Netflix film. Most of their original movies seem to care more about putting big stars (Sandra Bullock, Chris Hemsworth) into pulpy, big-budget genre flicks (Bird Box, Extraction) with a priority on commercial appeal, than chasing artistic merit and audience engagement. Heck, even Netflix's teen-targeted flicks, like the recent Sofia Carson dance movie Feel The Beat, become too worried about not being "cool enough" or age-appropriate that they end up playing as three-star "had some good moments" movies whose humour and characters are lost to those that don't understand the teenage pop culture. Well, Work It, somehow manages to become sophisticated, nuanced and highly engaging entertainment for adults, with enough escapism, perfectly judged humour and modern music to appeal to the teenage demographic too. Work It may be the best Netflix original yet, especially compared to their previous teen flicks. 

Pop star-turned-actress Sabrina Carpenter delivers an outstanding performance in her first leading role, as awkward 18 year old bookworm Quinn Ackerman. Having failed her admission interview for her dream college, Quinn is forced to participate in the annual Work It dance competition if she's to have any chance of her resume "standing out". However, there's one problem. She can't dance. Unable to get on her school's prestigious dance team (who've won for many years), Quinn along with best friend Jasmine (Liza Koshy) form their own ragtag team and enter the competition. I won't say anymore but, Alison Peck's perfectly judged screenplay riffs on similar themes to Booksmart, whilst using a similar story structure and narrative quality to that of an underdog sports flick. 

Anyway, back to Carpenter. As a popular singer with tonnes of performing talent (and experience), she makes the perfect casting as Quinn, in a similar way to Hailee Steinfeld in Dickinson. As an artist, I've been a big fan for years (her first two albums are works of art). But, with recent supporting turns in The Hate U Give (which she was brilliant in) and Netflix's own Tall Girl, Carpenter is starting to prove herself as a talented, nuanced and charming actress too. Work It allows her to flex her acting muscles for the first time in a leading role and you can tell she's having a good time. Her chemistry the entire cast is on point, especially with Koshy, with Jasmine and Quinn's friendship becoming the heart and soul of the movie. Koshy provides much of the humour and entertainment as the sidekick-type character, and is utterly delightful from start to finish. The entire cast are clearly enjoying themselves, but Jordan Fisher is a particular standout. His romance subplot with Carpenter is well handled and honestly done, forgoing cliche and sexual promiscuity for heart warming and earnest character development. 

The film is immensely (and unusually) funny for a Netflix original, with top notch character work and a humour style that references pop culture in a subtle and genuinely entertaining way. It doesn't lose any of it's audience by chasing popular zeitgiest trends or phrases, but to those young enough to be on the "inside" feels very relatable and current too. Alison Peck's script is very well plotted and crafted, with highly engaging plot turns and thematic exploration, that moves away from cliche and prefers narrative fulfillment as a way to entertain. Work It tells an excellent story in a very entertaining way, which has to be it's greatest achievement. 

I'm no dance expert, but the choreography seems very well designed here, taking the influence of modern styles (made popular by films like Step Up) and presenting them in colourful, visually dynamic and fluid ways. The dance sequences aren't "over edited" either, which speaks for the quality of the filmmaking from director Terruso and her team. Oh, and singer Alicia Keys acts as the film's producer for what that's worth, alongside Carpenter who executive produces for the first time and performs the end credits song.

Overall, Work It is a sign that maybe things are slowly starting to change over at Netflix when it comes to making high quality and immensely entertaining original movies. With top class performances, engaging characters and a narrative and humour style that puts sophistication over cliche, Work It becomes (by default) their best movie yet. Netflix doesn't need the stars or big budgets to validate it's popularity. It just needs to work at making more Work Its. 

5/5 STARS