I really enjoyed this female-centric thriller. It was like a modern day"Texas Cheerleader Mom" type of movie where that mom killed some teen girl so her daughter would be he head cheerleader but this movie is set in the children's dance world. I was glad to see a movie finally addressing the "dance mom" crazed mothers like you see on that reality show "Dance Moms" and how incensed and dangerous they can become when their children's reputation as dancers is on the line. Like the other title of this film, the dance moms really are "taken too far" with this whole dance competition world. Kids should be allowed to be kids and yes there are other sports that are competitive for children but some of these dance moms are worse than most and out of control and someone is gonna get hurt like what happens in this movie. The character of "Jeanette Grayson" (Christina Cox, a powerhouse "B" on steroids here) is spot on in how she embodies the obsessive dance mom determined to stop at nothing to see her daughter become a famous dancer. Sadly she does go too far and not only hurts her entire family but by the end of the film she has ruined her own life. I don't want to give anything away but I'm assuming this nut bag of a mother is not coming home for a long time by the end of this story. If only the busy father would have stopped her sooner. Jeanette's daughter, the character of "Sarah" is such a sweet and soft spoken, young girl. I was almost brought to tears when she reaches out to her competitor in the dance contest "Melanie" who almost lost her life due to what her sicko mother pulled on her. I liked the relationship of the girls who haven't been inflicted with the competitive nature sometimes women have with one another. I think the character of "Beth Hoyson" was perfect in this role. She also portrays the balanced mother who is allowing her daughter to pursue her creative dreams but at the same time trying to prepare her for real life by staying focused on her scholastic studies and all.
I was glad to see she found out just in time that the creepy mother "Jeanette" had nefarious plans all the while trying to pretend to be her friend. I hate women like that who play you so I was happy to see that B (Jeanette) gets hers at the end!
"Jeanette's" son "Jason" was played excellently but I can't help to think of how his life might turn out now that his mother succumbed to the dark side of being a dance mom. I guess having a good father, "Dean Grayson" will help but this Jason kid is obviously gonna be a bit damaged when it comes to the female archetype example set by his crazy mother. That "Dean" guy saw this coming and he even talks about his wife not taking her meds and drinking too much, but he should have acted faster, but I guess if he did then this movie wouldn't have happened! I also really felt sorry for that character that plays the family's houseman, "Stevie".
All in all the performances were really pretty good because I felt something for all of them. The cookie flying through the air and landing in Jason's fish tank was hilarious although sad but it really touched on how crazy this mother Jeanette is. I mean her daughter is bone thin and this crazy mother won't even allow her daughter one cookie for desert. Body image is also a really important issue going on in young teenage girls lives so this story lightly touches on that with this scene.
I'm no film expert but I watch a lot of Lifetime thrillers and this film would work well on that channel but I think it satisfies both the female and male audience. I like that genre of film called, FILM NOIR and in a weird way this film is sort of a modern day film noir to me. If Joan Crawford was alive today she could have also played the role of "Jeanette" and come to think of it if Barbara Stanwyck were alive she could have played "Beth". I also really like that it showed the struggles of single mom trying to raise a normal, healthy child and the challenge of holding down a job to keep food on the table.
Lastly I must say it was fun to watch Beverley Mitchell's "Beth" kick butt when she comes to her daughter's rescue after seeing her as a good girl all those years on 7th Heaven. All in all this was a very taut thriller with good acting by most. I thought the director and the writers created a unique story and again so happy to see someone addressing these wacked out and often crazy dance moms in a fiction film. Danielle
