It's officially been a full year today since Work It was released on Netflix! Given the occasion, I wanted to write up a review of the film and share it on here.
I am always super impressed with the versatility of Sabrina's acting style. No matter what the role, Sabrina seems to really get into all her characters on a very deep level, where she truly understands who these characters are and it's almost like a part of herself is coming out in these characters. Sabrina did an incredible job playing Quinn, in my opinion. Given Quinn was a nerdy, studious person, the film did a great job with avoiding making her into a stereotype of a nerd. Quinn very much felt like a unique, three-dimensional character that had lots of personal quirks. Quinn's character was super relatable to me as I too like feeling like I'm in control and organized (while also being quirky haha), and have trouble just being spontaneous about things. Being someone who was very studious all throughout my high school experience, Quinn's journey towards growth was something that reminded me of myself, because the film's portrayal of the struggles of breaking out of your comfort zone just felt that realistic. Leaving what's comfortable can be one of the hardest decisions to make, but as the film shows, sometimes it gives us the best experiences. One of the best things about this film is that it has such a great, empowering message.
Sabrina aside, I really liked all the other actors as well. I thought Jordan Fisher and Liza Koshy particularly did a great job with both of their characters. All the character interactions were amazingly written and nothing felt awkward, stilted, or unnecessary.
The comedy in this film was amazing as well. The jokes were so odd and random at times, while also being a bit raunchy in a goofy way, without being too inappropriate. I'll admit the joke where their dancing kills one of the old men in the nursing home was perhaps a bit mean, but the rest of the jokes were incredible. I particularly liked the old woman at end coming out while they were blasting music, looking disapproving at first, before suddenly exclaiming "turn that shit up!" lol.
I also loved this film's method of storytelling. Quite often, the film told us major details by showing, instead of spoonfeeding it to us. In example, when Quinn starts to fall in love with Jake, Quinn doesn't literally have to say "I'm in love with Jake" or "I'm developing feelings for him." Other than Jaz's brief joke asking if Quinn had a crush, the change we see in Quinn is entirely based on visual cues before the kiss scene: Quinn stops watching TED Talks in the morning and starts listening to music, Quinn's posture visibly changes, and we see Quinn's smitten facial expressions when she's watching Jake's videos. I find that to be top-notch storytelling, because it's so much more fun to experience those feelings with the character, rather than to just have it told to you.
I'm also not particularly into professional dancing (I would say I have the dance skills of Quinn at the beginning of the film, when she's constantly falling down lol), but this film did a great job of explaining the allures of dancing and how it's not just a silly pastime; it's an art that requires intense body coordination. While the film still didn't change my level of interest in dancing, it gave a great sense of what an empowering experience dancing can be.
Overall, this film is an absolute classic for me and it was so much fun to rewatch it today for the one-year anniversary. Between the stellar writing, the great storytelling and the great humor, I would highly recommend watching this film.
Comments