Tempers flare as Michelle (Tre Armstrong), a friend from the old days, starts picking fights with Raya, their first blowout resulting in a step-off. Raya catches the eye of Bishop (Dwain Murphey), a boy she's known for years. This further enrages Michelle, since she likes Bishop too. Bishop and his crew of steppers are getting ready for Step Monster, the huge step competition taking place in Detroit, as is Michelle's team. When Raya blows her scholarship exam, she decides that the only way to get the money for her education is to join a step team and win Step Monster. She and Michelle eventually work things out, but instead of joining the girls' team, which never wins first place and the $50,000 prize, she asks Bishop if she can join his team, JSJ. His crew doesn't really approve of adding a girl into the mix, even though she is really good, and there's some tension there. Bishop's little brother, Quake (Brennan Gademans), is a great stepper, as it turns out and he has a full book of moves he's worked out. This comes in handy later on during the Step Monster competition.
As the newest member of the JSJ crew, they enter a step comp, only to find that Michelle's crew has stolen their moves and performed them first. Determined to press on, they do their routine and are met with boos for "copying". In an attempt to save the day, Raya busts out with her own routine, but it doesn't work and only serves to anger Bishop, who throws her off the crew. Partly in retaliation but mostly for the prize money, Raya joins a rival team run by a guy who seems to have helped her sister along in her addiction and subsequent death. Lying to her mom and telling her she is going to a college consortium in Baltimore, Raya sneaks off to Detroit for Step Monster.
The remainder of the movie is Raya realizing who her true friends are and finding herself in the art of step. She has to stand up to her mother who finds out about her lying, and the competition becomes her time to shine. Some truly cool dance moves are showcased by the competing teams and the competition portion of the movie is very rousing and kind of reminded me of Drumline and Bring It On all wrapped up together. There's some solid acting in How She Move and all of the characters are very believable. As far as special features, there's not much, but what is there is enlightening. There's a featurette on the characters and the actors who played them. There's also one on the intensity of the rehearsals required for the film, since you had a mix of professional dancers and actors, all of whom had to learn the moves. Finally, there's a featurette on the story and the origins of step itself. While it's generally not my genre of movie, How She Move will be a crowd-pleaser for those that really enjoy the art of step and dance movies in general.
