The Doc Marten brand got some serious airtime throughout the duration of this film and if there is anything that I have learnt from watching Step Sisters, it’s that if I ever want to start stepping, I need to get myself a pair of those shoes.
Step Sisters follows Jamilah (Megalyn Echikunwoke), a university student who has fashioned the perfect life for herself. She is the president of her sorority, captain of their step dance crew and works closely with the university dean. She also has plans to go to Harvard with her wishes-he-was-black-but-isn’t boyfriend, and all she needs in order to do so is a letter of recommendation from her parents, both of whom are Harvard Alumni.
However, her train becomes seriously derailed upon discovering that her parents will not, in fact, be writing her any sort of letter since she didn’t get a perfect 4.0 GPA. This seems to be a recurring theme in American schooling; parents with high expectations. Let’s just say, down here in the southern hemisphere, I find ours to be far more lenient.
In the hopes that the university dean will recommend her instead, Jamilah begins coaching the disgraced sorority girls of Sigma Beta Beta in the art of stepping. She hopes that if they can only win ‘Steptacular’, a competitive step dance competition, then the SBB’s will have their suspension revoked and Jamilah’s good graces with the dean will get her into Harvard.
Step Sisters is like a Disney version of Stomp The Yard (2007) and follows a storyline that has been done before (haven’t they all?). The major ‘plot twist’ that occurred was not well written nor acted out, and basically followed along the lines of every Bring It On and Step Up film that has also come before.
The movie allowed for a lot of character development but I found it all to be very predictable. There was your typical mean girl, typical love story, typical break-ups and make-ups. However, I didn’t cringe as much as I’d initially expected to, and that’s got to count for something, right?
Though it is easy for me to spout my indignation about the predictability of the film and commonality of the plot, director Charles Stone III still had me happily watching Step Sisters through to the end. Not much of a tear jerker, but definitely a feel-good movie for those days when it’s raining out and you’ve got nothing better to do than stay home all day and wait for your desk to be delivered.
Fun Fact:
Lyndon Smith and Megalyn Echikunwoke both had recurring roles in 90210.
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