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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2021 film Spin.
Story
This is a pretty standard Disney formula teen music/sports movie. What’s different here is the lack of the usual tropes associated with this genre. There’s no mean girl, not much friends angst, no racism, and no parents yelling about what is appropriate.
The girl also doesn’t change herself for the boy, which is great.
There is a little bit more parental angst than I’d like and it was handled awkwardly in the story.
Score: 0.5
Characters
The friends and classmates were fantastic. It’s great to see that dynamic. The grandmother was amazing, she stole the show. The brother felt a little superfluous.
The love interest was perfectly annoying, as he should be.
The only character that bothered me was the dad. He had reasons for what he did but they were terribly shown and you really had to read between the lines. It made him seem like he went from supportive to ass without provocation.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
The dialogue was quipy and felt appropriate, if a little extra clean, for the age and characters. I liked the nerdy talk and the pun on tikka masala tacos (tik-taco)
Score: 1
Visuals and Music
The scenery and camera work are really well done and perfectly colourful. Perfect for the style of the story.
The music is excellent and had the whole family wanting to dance.
Score: 1
Fun
The entire family was bopping to the music and loving the story. It was really nice to see some of the most frustrating tropes in kids movies were turned upside down or discarded.
Score: 1
Overall
This is the teen movie I wish I’d had as a kid. The supportive friends, family, and teacher are awesome, the music fun, and the grandmother is amazing. If you enjoyed the music based movies from Disney in the early two thousands you’ll love everything about this.
I can’t wait to see it again.
Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5