Top Box Office Movies - You Got Served

You Got Served (2004) Screen Gems
1 hr. 34 mins.
Starring: Omari Grandbury, Marques Houston, Jennifer Freeman, DeMario Thornton, Christopher Jones, Steve Harvey, Meagan Goode
Directed by: Chris Stokes

You Got Served

Rating:

E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG

Photo: Screen Gems

For those of you who haven’t managed to get the mawkish Honey out of your cinematic system then brace yourself because the musical monotony doesn’t stop there. We ought to be privileged that some movie executive thought it would be a great idea to shuffle out a disjointed dance drama and unleash it to an unsuspecting urban audience. Geez, it’s one thing if you feel compelled to pander a project to a particular demographic and pray that the box office bucks roll in gracefully. But to do this with an outdated premise about animated street dancers within the confines of an uneventful script and cheap nostalgia…well, that’s just plain inexcusable. End of discussion.

Some may be prepared to defend the flawed footsteps of You Got Served as an artistic endeavor catering to a certain style of movement. Of course, one can simply say the same thing about the abominable Honey or the handful of annoying eighties breakdancing movies that were spawned overnight during that dubious period of time. Director Chris Stokes can probably anticipate the comparison his quick-footed, funky flick might generate as in reference to the ultimate cheesy “classic” that helped jumpstart the street dancing craze—of course we’re talking about the rigorous vibes of the Breakin’ movies. Whereas Breakin’ had the distinction of capitalizing on a dance fade that was sweeping the nation two decades earlier, Served wants to resurrect this passe phenomenon and provide its own awkward spin. But this flawed foot-tapping fable lacks the freshness, genuine energy and awakened drive that was so instrumental in making the inexplicable wide-eyed personalities of those ‘80s era breakdancing movies so liberating in all its outlandish giddiness.

There’s no doubt that the exuberance is evident in the featured dancing as the choreography is ambitious enough to sustain the creative rhythm-induced sequences. However, the script is so cockamamie that the misguided melodrama being served up is too cliched and sloppily concocted for its own good. Surprisingly, the editing is too confusing and the MTV-style rapid methods used only complicates the appreciation for viewing the indistinguishable participants as they engage in the kinetic ritual of street dancing. The central venue that is most important to the film is the dance area and if you find it straining in trying to identify who’s doing what at any giving time, this takes away from the intrigue of the finger-snapping festivities. The last thing that this kind of genre needs is when the audience has to bail out because they’re not sure with whom to attach emotionally as the confrontations progress. Hence, it would take more than the ear-shattering sounds of hip hop tunes to drown out your senses for this ridiculously pointless inner city excursion.

With all the references to the bone-crushing dancing aside, You Got Served actually has an on-going subplot that accompanies the exaggerated dance moves. We’re introduced to longtime buddies David (Omari Grandbury) and Elgin (Marques Houston), specialist dance gurus that have ruled the area with their slick dance steps. Apparently the dancing duo are the best around town and nobody can touch them based on the talent and tenacity that they possess. However, things become sordid when the pair find out that a rival dance crew in Orange County have been swiping their trademark act. Obviously the guys are miffed by this revelation. But their mentor and confidante Mr. Rad (Steve Harvey) tries to keep them on the straight and narrow by building up their confidence.

Soon, there would be other distracting obstacles that threaten the union of David and Elgin’s bonding. The tandem uncharacteristically lose a dance competition thus their psyches are damaged. Plus, matters are heated up even more when David decides to take a special liking to Elgin’s sister Liah (Jennifer Freeman). As the relationship unfolds between the couple, David and Elgin find their estrangement growing stronger and stronger. Of course this is bad timing because there are robust dance competitions coming up which means there’s an automatic jackpot to be won outright. With so much money at stake, the twosome is a shoe-in to win some major bucks if only they can get over the hump of the lingering alienation they feel for one another. Oh yeah, did we forget to address the silly subplot involving Elgin’s run-in with a local mobster figurehead? This definitely makes it a must for Elgin to partake in the upcoming dance competitions since he owes so much to the crime figure watching his every move. So should Elgin bury the hatchet with David and get down to some serious business about the money-making scheme to win the climactic dance contest? And will Elgin learn to accept David’s attraction for his desirable sibling Liah? As they say in the business, please stay tuned.

So what’s the main downfall concerning this streetwise stinkeroo? Could it be the atrocious acting that we can point our finger to? Or how about the faulty direction and the abysmal screenplay not good enough to line a birdcage? Maybe it’s the arbitrary meshed together scenes that are highlighted by the exhaustive dance bits looking to capture our worn out imaginations. Whatever designated crutch holding this disastrous dance dud in one boring piece, You Got Served is wickedly bad. Grandbury and Houston are engaging musicians asked to explore their charismatic and cunning talents within this lyrical landfill. Conversely, it’s master comedian Steve Harvey that comes to the rescue and adds some of his welcomed humor to numb some of the crappy and poorly conceived tidbits that spoil this mundane movie.

You’ll get served alright when busting a move with Stokes’s nose diving narrative…you’ll simply get served your just desserts.

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Frank Ochieng
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