This is a spirited, dirty dance between the polished inauthenticity of Hollywood romance-musicals and hip-hop's central tenet: keeping it real. It's an intriguing combination, if nothing else.
63
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The most traditional of Hollywood romances, in that it's resolutely about nice people with nice problems.
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
While it flirts with "After School Special"-ness, at least has the courage to address racial and cultural cliches with a degree of honesty.
This sweet-tempered retelling of "Romeo and Juliet," which substitutes uplift for tragedy, gives off enough energy and light that the audience wants to believe in it even if society's impacted prejudices continue to say otherwise.
For all its dumb clichés it offers the basic appeal of teen movies: the pleasure of watching kids be kids, acting as they do among themselves instead of how parents and teachers expect them to act.
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Village VoiceJessica Winter
The disjointed plotting and afterschool-special dialogue offer scant opportunity for the charismatic leading duo to work up much chemistry.
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Thomas' easygoing warmth helps to melt Stiles' icy veneer, and one of Dance's few pleasures is an extended musical segment where she tries to ape his homeboy posturings.