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YOU GOT SERVED

Review by Chastity Campbell

Starring: Dreux Frederic, Jennifer Freeman, Meagan Good, Omari Grandberry, Steve Harvey, Jarell Houston, Marques Houston, Lil Kim, Michael “Bear” Taliferro, DeMario Thornton, Alani “La La” Vasquez
Director: Christopher B. Stokes
Video: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
Features: See Review
Release Date: May 18, 2004

Film **

I’ve been to many a dance club in my time, and have to say I have never seen anything quite like the dancing I saw in this film. You Got Served is West Side Story meets Boyz N the Hood, and surprisingly, it works.  

Elgin and David are best friends who love to kick it into high gear down at Mr. Rad’s Warehouse.   The Warehouse is the where the best of the best from L.A. go when their crews are ready to do battle, on the dance floor that is. 

When David and Elgin are challenged by a crew of suburban rich boys, it’s put up or shut up time, and neither of these guys can shut up!  $5000 for five minutes, and when the dance floor clears, everyone’s lives will be changed.

This film was fast and fun to watch.  There were no foul mouthed, teenagers spewing long strings of expletives at each other for shock value.  This film is family friendly, and to be honest, with all the crazy stuff going on out there today, it’s nice to have a modern film that kids can watch, without their parents having to sensor the audio every few minutes.

The dance moves you’ll see in this film range from old school break dancing to jaw dropping body bending feats that will cause more than one of you out there to back it up and view it again!

Marques Houston, who plays the very cute and cuddly Elgin, might be better known for his work with such groups as IMX and Destiny’s Child.  However, it was his work during the 90’s on Sister Sister that first put him in the spotlight. 

Houston is a phenomenal dancer, and a pretty decent actor as well.  His overprotective big brother routine got a bit old, and lasted a little too long, but otherwise a solid performance by an up and coming actor.

I’m not a big fan of B2K, but they sure can dance!   Front man Omari Grandberry did an okay job as Elgin’s best friend David.  The love story between David and Elgin’s sister was a bit recycled but bearable. 

Grandberry has some work to do where his acting career is concerned, but overall not a bad performance from a rookie.

Steve Harvey and Lil Kim add quite a bit of weight to both sides of this film.  Harve, I’m sure ,was an acting inspiration for all of the young people involved, while Lil Kim helped tie up the motivations behind some of the dancing at the end.

You Got Served serves up a good time for everyone involved, and at the end you’ll either be on the floor trying to do the moves, or sitting there stunned wondering how’d they do that?!

Get yourself an extra serving of entertainment, by picking up You Got Served on DVD today.

Video ***

I was extremely impressed by the clarity and quality of this DVD’s 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer.  The colors in each scene were vivid and crisp with no dirt or graininess visible.  The use of light and shadow worked along with the great camera work to bring you an easy on the eyes video experience.

Audio ***

This DVD’s audio was off the hook!  Okay, well maybe not off the hook, but it was extremely pleasant to listen to!

The 5.1 Dolby Digital surround mix made its presence known from the very first opening tone.  The audio levels remained constant throughout, with no distortion or dropouts. 

Features ***

This DVD served up quite a few extra features for your viewing pleasure.

There is video and audio dance commentary with cast and crew featurette.  Commentary by the director and some of the cast members is also included.

A featurette titled “Serve It UP: The Making Of You Got Served” takes you behind the scenes of this toe tapping movie, and shows you how to the serve it up right.

B2K is on the scene with the video for their song “BadaBoom.”  Battle of the beat clip compilation is also really cool, and fun to watch.  

For those of you who want to be able to serve it up on the dance floor the next time you’re at the club there’s the Dance Breakdown interactive multi-angle featurette.  

Add to all of that some movie previews, and this DVD’s extra features bring down the house!

Summary:

I got served with a cute flick and some really great extra features when I sat down to view this DVD.  It’s an old story about love and rivalry with a dancing twist.  If you’ve got some time to spare, let this DVD dance its way right into your collection.