The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

Jack says: A-

If you ever watch a reality show on MTV, then I'm sorry. Those aren't realilty. There is one called "Taking the Stage" about teenagers at an art school in Cincinnati trying to become stars. It's not horrible but it's not very realistic. Well, Every Little Step gets everything right that TTS gets wrong. It's gritty, it's funny, personal, terribly entertaining and you can't help but get up and dance.

It follows the journey of severl actor/dancers trying out for a part in the revival of A Chorus Line, the tour de force of the 70's. It shows just how quintessential this show was and is in the lives of dancers and actors. There are parts where the director plays excerpts from the famous night where all the dancers gathered to talk about themselves. That premise alone is haunting and beautiful enough to sustain the movie.

To make things very interesting, it puts the story of the dancers struggling to get to the top in the real lives of the dancers trying to make the crucial cut.

The dancing is real, raw and out of control. The producers and directors and choreographers who worked on the original show are great to watch as well. They are true characters, especially Baayork Lee. She is the dancer from the original, playing the part that was written about her life. and she's a true force of nature, a creature of the theatre.

This film deftly moves from person to person, telling their story from callback to callback. It shows the pain and the risk that actors take when they do their job. It shows the letdowns, the happiness, the utter up-then-downness of it all. It's a documentary that is so electrifying and raw that I found myself wanting to watch it over and over again.

Matthew says: A-

Documentaries. No matter how riveting the subject sounds, the real film is rarely ever as intriguing. However, this little documentary will make you smile, cry, bite your nails in anguish, and want to leap from your seat and dance. In fact, that may be the only flaw in this film, having a sudden wish to burst out in song and dance and then realizing you can't. (I'm just speaking for myself).

Every Little Step is the story of the revival of the Broadway classic, A Chorus Line. The film goes off and on between the audition process of the revival and the history behind the original musical. The history is fascinating, and the auditions are insanely entertaining.

This movie really does make you feel deep sad emotion. With the true stories of these dancers with subtly troubled pasts. They may not seem excruciatingly horrible on paper, but as these real people tell their stories with full honesty, it's heart breaking. And then it shows these actors try to pay homage to these people and their stories, you really want them to. And in the end, seeing the finished show, after all the work put into it, you feel like a proud parent seeing their child chasing their dreams.