‘she dances’ film review: healing in motion

If the goal is to make everyone cry, writer/director duo Steve Zahn and Rick Gomez are successful with this heartwarming comedy. She Dances is a modest film about Jason, a bachelor father, selling the beer company he co-founded with his best friend, played by Ethan Hawke. On the brink of a major business decision, Jason is caught off guard when his teenage daughter Claire (played by Audrey Zahn) begrudgingly asks him to accompany her on a road trip to her regional dance competition.

Tribeca Film Festival Premiere - Steven Zahn, Audrey Zahn

The trip kicks off with a surprise: Claire’s best friend and dance partner, Kat, is coming along. As they drive, the film uses the trip to explore generational differences. He’s batting a thousand the whole ride, including the moment when they arrive at their original destination and he mistakenly loses their reservation, landing them in a rundown local motel.

What gives She Dances its emotional weight is the slow, sometimes clumsy effort to reconnect. Jason helps the girls during practice, tries to bond by sharing stories from his younger years in musical theatre, and supports them during a highly competitive performance. Gomez reveals Jason’s internal conflict through emotionally resonant moments that allude to the loss of his son, Claire’s brother, an unspoken grief that has fractured their family.

With the final act underway, Claire stands alone, confronting both the pressure of competition and the quiet grief that still hangs between her and her father. What Jason and Claire’s instructor (played by Sonequa Martin-Green) do not realize is that Claire has reworked her final dance into something deeply personal and meaningful.

She Dances is minimalistic, and the cinematography does little to dazzle, but that feels intentional. Gomez delivers a subtle film that focuses entirely on character development. Similarly, lines in the backdrop appear when they are together in person, gradually disappearing as they grow closer.

Tribeca Film Festival - Sonequa Martin-Green

Steven Zahn writes this as a tribute to his daughter Audrey, and you can tell by their dedication to their roles that it means a lot to them. Fans of Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, or Captain Fantastic will find plenty to like here, but don’t expect surprises or richly drawn characters from Zahn’s script. What you can expect is a lighthearted and warm labor of love. We’ve seen father-daughter road trip films before, but this one feels somewhat sincere, even when the story misses the mark with plainly written, occasionally one-dimensional characters.

NOVEMBER|ELEVENTH RATING

3.5 STARS.