Sometimes you watch a trailer for a movie and you can almost look at the formula working behind the scenes, similar to how Neo can see the coding of The Matrix. That’s exactly what happens when you watch the trailer for “Work It,” Netflix’s latest attempt to secure a legion of teen fans that will meme the hell out of a project.
“Work It” tells the story of a hapless young girl that dreams of being a top dancer at her school, but she just doesn’t have the necessary skills to make it in the coveted Thunderbirds team. So, she joins up with her talented friend and puts together a ragtag group of people to compete for dance glory. You can probably see the formula already, huh?
Netflix’s goal is to appeal to teens, right? So, you take one part “Pitch Perfect,” one part “Bring It On,” a small amount of “To All The Boys”-style romance, and add a dash of YouTube royalty, and what do you get? Huge viewership numbers and social media interaction, aka “Work It.” The film borrows heavily from previously established film successes and then adds Liza Koshy for good measure, just to ensure that there is a huge number of teens ready to devour the movie. Koshy, of course, is one of the biggest stars on YouTube, with almost 18 million subscribers. If you just get half of those people to watch the movie, Netflix has a bonafide hit already.
The film stars Sabrina Carpenter, Liza Koshy, Jordan Fisher, Keiynan Lonsdale, Drew Ray Tanner, and Michelle Buteau. Laura Terruso directed the feature. She’s probably best known for helming films such as “Good Girls Get High” and “Fits and Starts.” “Work It” is written by Alison Peck, who previously wrote the animated feature, “UglyDolls.”
“Work It” arrives on Netflix on August 7. You can watch the trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
When Quinn Ackerman’s (Sabrina Carpenter) admission to the college of her dreams depends on her performance at a dance competition, she forms a ragtag group of dancers to take on the best squad in school…now she just needs to learn how to dance.
