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Movies / Upcoming / Every Little Step
Every Little Step

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Every Little Step (2009)

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Reviews Counted:86

Fresh:78

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: Fascinating and insightful, Every Little Step is a thoroughly engrossing behind the scenes look at Broadway performers.

Australian Rating: M [See Full Rating] Coarse language

Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 2, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $1,528,106

Synopsis: After raking in awards at several major film festivals, EVERY LITTLE STEP reaches movie audiences and Broadway fans alike. A film about a musical that is itself about the casting of a musical, the... After raking in awards at several major film festivals, EVERY LITTLE STEP reaches movie audiences and Broadway fans alike. A film about a musical that is itself about the casting of a musical, the documentary takes fans inside the makings of A CHORUS LINE. Much of it focuses on the casting process for the musical’s 2005 revival, though it also takes fans through the show’s many incarnations and to its original inspiration. Back in 1974, choreographer Michael Bennett saw the potential for a spectacular show in the recorded late-night conversations of several stage performers. One year--and a lot of labor--later, A CHORUS LINE premiered to high acclaim, introducing the world to what would turn out to be a timeless work. EVERY LITTLE STEP takes viewers through the next few decades with rare footage and fresh interviews, showing the show’s history unfold in a world filled with war, anxiety, and political change. As casting is done is for the 2005 revival, audiences see how much the times have changed in the light of media outlets like MySpace and AMERICAN IDOL. As viewers get to know the actors behind the production, the realms of theater and reality blur. With its underdog heroes and self-reflexive narrative, A CHORUS LINE is understandably appealing to today’s reality-show audiences. The film is the joint effort of directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo, whose backgrounds as theatre producers, filmmakers, and documentarians combine well to create a film that manages to be not only educational but as entertaining as its subject. [More]

Director: James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo

Director: James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
Producer: James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
Composer: Jane Antonia Cornish
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

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Reviews for Every Little Step

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
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There is something piercingly affecting about this film and it’s mainly to do with how much this particular musical means to the dancers and singers whose lives it represents.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
07/02/09
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An irresistible mix of high drama and intimate stories

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/27/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Just as powerful as the original musical -- keeps you glued to the fascinating and heartbreaking audition process.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
06/30/09
Jenni Dawes
Jenni Dawes
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This fascinating American made documentary tracks a disparate group of dancers trying out for a range of roles in a Broadway revival of the iconic stage musical A Chorus Line.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment Comment
07/02/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rousing glimpse into the life of a dancer, this involving, moving and thrilling documentary revisits choreographer Michael Bennett's multi-award winning stage show by brilliantly cross-linking it with auditions for its 2006 New York revival

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/27/09
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We're left with a deep sense of admiration for those who are prepared to face rejection routinely in pursuit of a dream.

Full Review Source: Time Out Sydney | comment Comment
07/03/09
Nick Dent
Nick Dent
Time Out Sydney
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There are still plenty of engrossing aspects to the film, moments in the audition process that demonstrate the complexity of performance.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
07/02/09
Philippa Hawker
Philippa Hawker
The Age (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

All the dancers who move towards the final cut are so good that the line between success and failure seems cruelly arbitrary and the disappointment of those who don't make it is acute. But nobody's giving up.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/09/09
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fantastic behind-the-scenes sing/dance documentary which gives much more insight into the audition process than all those TV shows.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia | comment Comment
06/28/09
Sara Klein
Sara Klein
Empire Magazine Australasia
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In Every Little Step, life imitates art, art reflects life, and the distinctions threaten, quite pleasantly, to blur altogether.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/17/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like show-business culture itself, A Chorus Line traffics in both cloying sentimentality and Darwinian ruthlessness, qualities that James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo's highly addictive behind-the-scenes documentary Every Little Step captures in abundance.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
04/17/09
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Reality TV has squandered the great impulse toward cultural-political exploration by turning democracy and the documentary into bread and circuses. This tragedy defeats Every Little Step, the first doc to chronicle A Chorus Line’s creation

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
04/15/09
Armond White
Armond White
New York Press

Mostly entertaining, lively and occasionally riveting and moving, but its lack of insight and provocative revelations ultimately leave you feeling underwhelmed and unenlightened.

Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | comment Comment
04/17/09
Avi Offer
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru

I know what to expect. I am going to see some dancers make it, some not make it, and that’s what it is.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
04/27/09
Ben Lyons
Ben Lyons
At the Movies

I cared enormously about all of these kids auditioning.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
04/27/09
Ben Mankiewicz
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

A briskly self-aware, thoroughly stage-struck portrait ... of a show that itself is a stage-struck theatrical portrait.

Full Review Source: NPR | comment Comment
04/16/09
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR

A fast-paced documentary that captures the angst, joys, and disappointments of the young hopefuls as they try out for a show that mirrors their pursuits.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Asylum | comment Comment
03/24/09
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
Entertainment Asylum

Every Little Step never rises above being a very good showbiz documentary. But it's an engaging tribute to a groundbreaking musical.

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
06/04/09
Calvin Wilson
Calvin Wilson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The exuberant documentary Every Little Step revisits the genesis of the landmark show about the gestation and delivery of a Broadway musical.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
05/14/09
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

essentially the story of people auditioning for a show about auditions

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/16/09
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Every Little Step

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