Who Plays Who?

Shoshana Bush Damon Wayans Jr Kim Wayans Shawn Wayans Marlon Wayans Keenen Ivory Wayans Michael Wayans Gregory Wayans Benson Jr Cara Mia Wayans Essence Atkins Affion Crockett Chris Elliott Christina Murphy David Alan Grier Amy Sedaris Lauren Bowles Brennan Hillard George Gore II Chelsea Makela Ross Thomas Sufe Bradshaw Yves Lola St Vil Ellia English

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Megan Thomas Ms Dontwannabebothered Baby Daddy Mr Moody Mr Stache Confessing Crew Member Mr Moody's Favorite Student Club Girl Charity A-Con Ron Nora Sugar Bear Ms Cameltoe` Glynn Jack Ray Tracy Transfat Tyler Keloid Uglisha Lady on Train

The Inside Story "Dance Flick" is a hilarious new comedy that brings together the talents of two generations of the Wayans family, the explosively funny clan who brought us the "Scary Movie" franchise and "White Chicks", as well as outrageous, "Little Man". There have been few screen comedy families who have successfully passed the torch from one generation to the next as the Wayans family has. The Wayans brothers (Keenen Ivory, Shawn, Marlon and Damon) along with sister Kim, first burst onto the screen with 1988’s blaxploitation parody, "I’m Gonna Git You Sucka", which led to their groundbreaking Fox comedy sketch series, "In Living Color". The show not only brought the Wayans clan into the public consciousness, but also launched the careers of such other major stars as Jim Carrey, David Alan Grier, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez. Keenen also wrote and starred in the 1987 film, "Hollywood Shuffle". The brothers have continued into the millennium with a string of successful theatrical comedies. The new decade has brought to light a new, and equally talented, Wayans generation, including Damon Wayans, Jr, Craig Wayans (son of Wayans sibling Deirdre) and Damien Dante Wayans (son of Wayans sibling Elvira Wayans), all of whom honed their skills writing and/or directing episodes of "My Wife and Kids", as well as contributing material to the brothers’ recent feature films. Other Wayans offspring who make contributions to "Dance Flick" include Dwayne Wayans Jr, who co-composed some of the film’s music (with Erik Willis) and Michael Wayans, Damon Jr's brother, who appears briefly in the film. When it came time for a new Wayans comedy, the brothers decided it was time to showcase the new generation. Marlon Wayans ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra") explained: "We’re doing with them what my brother, Keenen, did with Shawn and myself with "I’m Gonna Git You Sucka". It’s kind of like we’re teaching these guys how to fish, but we ain’t going and getting them no fish: they’ve got to do it themselves. And stay out of my pond." "We were talking about beginning the second generation movement, and we’ve written other movies, plus Damien and I worked together for three seasons on 'My Wife and Kids'. So we said, We want to present ourselves as the next generation," says Craig Wayans. "We’re just trying to find our own niche, and this is the beginning," adds Damon Jr. While most Wayans features have been directed by Keenen, when it came time to select a director for "Dance Flick", the brothers decided to give Damien a shot. "He’s been around television and movie sets his whole life," says producer Rick Alvarez ("White Chicks" & "Little Man"). "He came up under the tutelage of his uncles, and the guys really wanted the next generation to have an opportunity; it was just time." "Being an actor himself, Damien is very good with actors and being part of the family, he gets their jokes. So, if you get jokes and you’re good with actors, you’re doing great. Some directors get too caught up in trying to get certain shots which don’t necessarily work in comedy, but he’s a great comedic director," Craig Wayans notes. The results have more than justified their expectations, say the elder Wayans. "It’s great to be able to extend a hand into this generation, to see how they’re coming up. It makes you proud, like a proud father, to watch your cubs," says Marlon. "They’re like little brothers, they’re like my sons, they’re like my friends. To see them achieve, to go through this process, makes me smile." The idea for "Dance Flick" came from a combination of suggestions from the younger Damien Dante and Craig Wayans and their uncle, Shawn (the latter is often credited with starting new Wayans concepts). "Shawn is like a start-up engine," says his brother Marlon. "When it comes to coming up with ideas, he’s like an idiot savant. Mostly idiot," he says teasingly. Ideas for Wayans projects come from the strangest places and at the strangest times, Marlon says. "Shawn will call me up at some weird hour in the morning with an idea, and I’ll just go, 'Oh, that’s funny', and then we’ll start building from there." So why a send-up of dance movies? "We had just come off a stream of really good dance movies, like "You Got Served", "Step Up" and "Stomp the Yard". But they were all starting to tell the same stories. They were all doing the same kinds of dances and everything started to feel the same. We just knew it was time," says Alvarez. "Dance movies are incredible," says comic actor Affion Crockett ("Never Back Down"), who plays A-Con, an aspiring convict, in the film. "But the acting is usually atrocious, and there’s no story line. It’s like you find a couple of kids that are down and out and have no direction, and all of a sudden dancing saves their lives." "Dancing with the Stars has all these B movie stars and singers," notes Damon Jr. "I mean, Heather Mills: everybody wanted that leg to fly off. I was watching, just hoping, 'Come on, just once, just let it slide on the floor and turn it into a dance move.' "There’s been so much dance involved in our culture lately that somebody needed to make fun of it." Send-ups are, it seems, a way of life for the Wayans. "They notice trends and things that have passed their prime, that are at a place where they have almost become parodies of themselves," says Alvarez. Damon agrees: "They just see a trend and then act accordingly." Once a project is got underway, team Wayans gets to work, starting with selecting the movies to send-up, classics like "Flashdance" and "Fame", as well as most of the recent crop, including "Save the Last Dance" and "High School Musical". "We look for the best story that will fit the genre," Craig explaines. "A lot of other parodies, they just take whatever the biggest movies were, period, and throw them in and say it’s genre when it’s not. We pretty much just load up on the genre and go for it and have fun." Craig Wayans says he environment is a far cry from the standard writer’s room. "I’ve seen other writer’s rooms and they’re boring," he adds. "With us, it really doesn’t seem like work. I’m with my family, my best friends, and all we do is laugh, crack jokes and put it on paper." The crew gathered at Keenen’s or Shawn’s house, or wherever was convenient, to review potential parodies. "If somebody had a stand-up gig, we’d go on the road and, before and after, we’d just write," Craig recalls. "We’d hang out with each other all the time, so even if we were going somewhere to have fun, we could work until it was time for fun and then work afterwards. You come up with your best stuff that way." And what do the Wayans aim for with their films? "A theater with a laughing audience is all we want," says Marlon. "If we can get the people we’re making fun of to laugh, we know we did a good job. We don’t want to see anybody cry. We just want to see people crying from laughter." According to choreographer Dave Scott, "doing a send-up gives them an opportunity to go to more places in one project, without having to be locked into just one genre." When it came time to cast "Dance Flick", the producers decided to stay away from known names, keeping the joke telling at the centre. "Casting the movie was a real challenge for us," says Alvarez. "We were hoping to find really funny people who could dance. We focused heavily on the funny and just kept our fingers crossed that they could dance, too. Finding new young actors who could make an audience laugh at any cost, was the primary objective." "I didn’t want to go the name route. I really wanted to come out with some fresh new energy," says director Damien Dante. "I’m a first-timer and people believed in me, so I believed in giving back to others." First and foremost was Damon Wayans Jr as Thomas Uncles. Damon describes Uncles as "the nerdiest black dude you could ever imagine. I wasn’t even supposed to have a part in the movie. I was just writing jokes for it and I wound up auditioning. However, getting a part in a Wayans film isn’t a given, even if Wayans is your last name. They made me audition five times!" The producers cast actress Shoshana Bush as Megan White, a take-off on the Julia Stiles character in "Save the Last Dance". "She’s sort of the girl-next-door type, naïve to everything that’s going on around her, but she’s also becoming a woman as she’s learning the dance moves," Bush says. "Save the Last Dance was one of my favorite movies growing up, so I'm just thrilled to be able to send-up that character in my own way." Christina Murphy was cast as White's nemesis Nora. Murphy’s Nora parodies both Jenna Dewan’s character from "Step Up" and the 'mean girl' character in "Save the Last Dance". "We put them together, and I’m the mean best dancer of the school who falls in love with the janitor," Murphy explained. "I’m not nice to anyone until we get into battle and I find some camaraderie, and finally some friends, and a little bit of love." Megan’s best friend is Charity, a teenage mom with questionable mothering skills, played by Essence Atkins. "She’s always focused on the baby’s well-being, but there’s still a life to be lived," Atkins ("Nikita's Blues") notes. "There’s still clubs to go to, there’s still moments to have and men to find to be her boyfriend." Charity’s baby, for most of the film is played by a set of twins and another child, but for its numerous acrobatic scenes an animatronic version name Igor was used. Atkins recalls: "Poor Igor. He really got abused in this film. I don’t know that he’ll ever be the same." Brennan Hillard makes his debut as Jack the son of the schools basketball coach. Hillard features in a take-off of Zac Efron’s teen heartthrob character, Troy. "I watched "High School Musical", like, every day. I watched awards shows to see the way he walked, the way he acted. I tried getting his little smile down, you know, the fake smile, and just ramped it up a bit," Hilliard said. There is someone who has a crush on Jack. It's Tracy Transfat played by Chelsea Makela. The character, Makela notes, is a take on the Tracy Turnblatt character in "Hairspray". The ever-funny Affion Crockett plays A-Con, who, Crockett says, "is a guy who is literally aspiring to be a convict. He loves negativity." Ross Thomas plays Tyler, the school janitor for whom the ice cold Nora falls for and becomes his dance partner. "He’s the only one that could pick her up!" Murphy notes of Tyler. "He's sending-up the Channing Tatum character from the 'Step Up' movies." Ms Cameltoe is played by Amy Sedaris. "We were really lucky to get her. It’s a risky role that she jumped right into. She had no qualms about it." Rounding out the cast are two other comedic Wayans must-haves. Chris Elliott plays Megan's dad, Ron and David Alan Grier, who plays gangster, Sugar Bear. The Verdict "The Wayans Bros and most of their family, relatives and siblings are back, either writing, directing or starring in, another outrageous send-up, this time targeting everyones favourite dance/musical flicks with, "Dance Flick". Unfairly blamed for some of recent times 'disasterous' at the box-office movies (no, they weren't involved in "Date Movie" or "Disaster Movie" and haven't released a film since "Little Man" 2006), this is a return to form for the Wayans. Think 'Dirty Dancing' only a whole lot dirtier, without being offensive. Think "Hairspray" only fatter. Think of "You Got Served" getting a real serve. Think "High School Musical" as 'Music High School'. The Wayans family even throw in a very funny send-up of "Final Destination". It's all here in "Dance Flick". A film that will test your cinematic knowledge. How many send-ups of well known dance movies will you spot? A big slice of the fun is in the films characters: a teacher named Miss Cameltoe; the macho basketball coach's gay son Jack; a single mum who leaves her baby boy in a locker while attending classes; Mrs Dontwanttobebothered, the school counselor who truly doesn’t want to be bothered with the kids; and, a hugely obese black gangster who stuffs himself with pumpkin pie, Krispy Kreme donuts, Ho-Hos, Twinkies and potato chips. If you're already a Wayans Bros fan, this will be a must see. Suitable for those who love a good sendup and have a broad sense of humour. At 83 minutes running time, the Wayans family have packed enough into "Dance Flick" to make it worth the effort. 3 1/2 STARS." Synopsis

The brothers have just been served and Thomas Uncles, a hip-hop hopeful whose dance-competition loss puts him in debt to gargantuan gang leader Sugar Bear has been given a week to come up with Sugar Bear's five thousand bucks. Then his luck starts to change. At performing-arts high school, Music High School, Thomas meets new girl Megan White, an aspiring ballerina who has just moved to the city. Her Juilliard dreams were shattered when her mother died a heroically protracted death on her way to Megan’s audition. Though they start as prickly competitors, it isn’t long before Thomas and Megan’s mutual love of dance enables them to overcome the social and racial barriers between them. But will their unlikely love story be enough to inspire all of the school’s students, rekindle Megan’s dreams, and save Thomas as he returns to the hip-hop battlefield of his earlier defeat?

What Do The Critics Say

"I mean, come on: it's a scant 75 minutes long, contains a well-deserved swipe at the goofiness that is the Twilight saga, and features a beatboxing vagina. If that doesn't marginally entertain you, nothing will. "Dance Flick" has an appealing" concentration on zany that’s eluded fellow yuksters such as Friedman/Seltzer and even David Zucker in recent years. At its best, it’s an energetic, slaphappy comedy with a cheerful attitude." Brian Orndorf THIS IS BRIAN ORNDORF "In this enjoyably dirty-minded sendup of when-ballet-met-hip-hop youth musicals, the Wayans brothers hand the directorial reigns over to their nephew, Damien Dante Wayans, who piles on the stupid/smart gags with just the right what-the-hell abandon." Owen Gleiberman ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY "Who needs Middle Eastern oil when the Wayans Brothers project enough energy for U.S. needs until the next Wayans comedy?" Harvey S Karten COMPUSERVE "It isn’t highbrow: or encumbered by scruples. The Wayans retain their vulgar, adolescent derision of sex, class and race. In this bow down to Hollywood millennium, their irreverence is almost subversive." Armond White NEW YORK PRESS "The best Wayans movie since the first Scary Movie. The Wayans' are in top form taking the benchmarks of dance movies to an extreme degree." Fred Topel CAN MAGAZINE "I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed Dance Flick. After all, it’s a film that pokes fun at so many movies I love because of their focus on dancing. But this outrageous comedy from the Wayans family is also such fun to watch! Yes, Dance Flick includes some raunchy scenes and more crude language than necessary. However, its amusing dialogue and humorous performances overshadow these negatives. 'Dance Flick' may be offensive to dancers and other living things, but it's also very funny." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK REVIEWS

"Recent parody movies have given "Dance Flick" a boost. Because they stunk to high heaven, they've lowered expectations for this not-bad 'Flick'. There's also a random parody of "Final Destination" and a collection of scenes that make fun of movies both old school ("Flashdance") and in the future school (the "Fame" scene is practically an advertisement for the upcoming remake of that musical). Shoshana Bush plays Megan, the new girl who quickly joins up with a crew that's preparing for a big dance-off. They've come up with some clever riffs on dance-movie cliches and they created a couple show-stopping characters, including a dance instructor named Ms. Cameltoe, and that's all good taste will allow me to say." Chris Hewitt ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS "Dance Flick is a very funny, very entertaining film. This is also a movie that's not afraid to go for the easy, obvious, and absolutely hilarious laugh. Amy Sedaris has a small role as a dance instructor with a descriptive name that will have you rolling in the aisles." Bill Gibron FILMCRITIC.COM "This send-up, created in large part by new-generation family members Damon Jr, Craig and Damien Dante Wayans, possesses a more nimble comic footing. Yes, it's that kind of comedy, a buzz saw grinding its way through formulas found in recent dance movies. Efron should probably pass on seeing this one, likewise Halle Berry." Glenn Whipp LOS ANGELES TIMES "The spectacle of David Alan Grier break-dancing in a fat suit is one of half a dozen uproarious scenes in "Dance Flick", the Wayans family’s explosively funny spoof. Dance Flick” offers a nonstop barrage of jokes and quotations from movies and television that are all the funnier if you know the sources, although familiarity is not required. Its belly laughs leave you feeling liberated and not guilty." Stephen Holden NEW YORK TIMES "Skewering the song and dance genre with the irreverent, rude 'n' crude moves that marked the best of their "Scary Movie" franchise, the Wayans find plenty to parody in "Dance Flick." Of course, not all the shtick sticks, but director Damien Dante Wayans and co-writers, family members Keenen Ivory, Shawn, Marlon and Craig have done an efficient job in keeping the laugh-to-groan ratio reasonably high. Not a perfect 10, but the Wayans crew hit their mark more than they miss." Michael Rechtshaffen HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

The Production Team

Director Written by Producers Cinematography Film Editing Casting Production Designer Art Direction Set Decoration Costume Design

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Damien Dante Wayans Keenen Ivory Wayans/Shawn Wayans/Marlon Wayans Craig Wayans/Damien Dante Wayans Rick Alvarez/Keenen Ivory Wayans Marlon Wayans/Shawn Wayans Mark Irwin Scott Hill & Scott Hill Lisa Beach & Sarah Katzman Aaron Osborne Erin Cochran Jennifer M Gentile Judy L Ruskin

Run Time 83 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] ©2009 - Paramount Pictures - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2009 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & Impact Internet Services - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark laws applied.