Every Little Step

I expected to be completely bored by "Every Little Step," (2008). I have almost no interest in musicals, and even less of an interest in dancing. Since that's what the marketing for the film suggests, I didn't go into the theater thinking that I'd enjoy the content as much as I did. As art should be: it was very entertaining, despite my bias going in.

I suppose it's safe to say that this documentary has been thirty years in the making. It mixes original recordings from the planning stages of 1975's Broadway run of "A Chorus Line," and footage from the original production with revival auditions and production footage. The first half of the film relies almost entirely on what's spoken in the planning recordings. We hear original director Michael Bennett discussing very personal details of his life; in turn, those auditioning share their stories. What results is an incredibly close look into the heart of the story. Cliche? I know. But these recordings, accompanied by grainy archive footage of Michael Bennett interviews, expose the meaning of the film. The filmmakers (Deo and Stern) induce a feeling of nostalgia, but not the kind of nostalgia that hipsters cling to when in the midst of the ever-retro original Nintendo or ugly Ray-Bans. The almost black-and-white footage and the reel-to-reel are moving. I can't speak for everyone in the theater, but I know that I wish there had been more of this. It's not often that I find myself really caring for what the author of the book or song or show thinks. Even with film I try to distance myself from the writer/director while simultaneously combing IMDb and Wikipedia for any sort of revealing facts. Art should be able to stand alone; it is the reader/viewer that should give the piece meaning. With documentary, though, perhaps the expectation is a little different. The audience is supposed to care about what the creator thinks. In this particular case, we absolutely have to know what the authors and directors envisioned and what inspired them in order to be able to grasp fully the concept of this film and the musical to which it alludes. The audience has to know that the only thing the director cared about was doing what he wanted to do. The filmmakers mix in just enough drama to make the audience care, and they most certainly do.

But it's not flawless. I know, I started a sentence with "but." But I'm doing what I want to do, dammit! After the first half, the film wanes a bit. I found that far too much time was spent on the audition footage, especially for some of the performers who were ultimately not cast. I cannot understand why there needed to be as much time spent on the first round of auditions, or the second... What was more revealing were the final callbacks. And the star of the auditions is barely touched upon following his few minute stint. Jason Tam, who auditions for the gripping character Paul, performs so well that he brings the judges to tears... and then we don't see him again, save for a glimpse or two at the end. Clearly he had a big story to tell, but we don't see any of it. Instead we're bombarded in the second half with minute after minute after minute of extreme close up dancing that's no different than anything I could see on a weeknight on Fox, which is the greatest flaw. The filmmakers have to cater to an audience that is regularly exposed to "Dancing with the Stars," and "So You Think You Can Dance," and "Dance Your Ass Off." And so there has to be some resemblance to these shows in order for a greater group of people to give a shit. Which is unfortunate. More attention should have been focused on the roots of the play, on how all of the original ideas fell into place. But I suppose no movie is perfect.

Verdict: Pretty Stoked (For a movie about dancing).

Unfortunately, there was a dismal turnout compared to last week's screening of "The Class," (2008). Probably due to the abrupt change in scheduling, as 2008's "Soul Power," was dropped from the bill. Hopefully next week's Monday streets will be filled with flood water, and Potsdam will have nothing else to do but find refuge in the theater.

-E