Let It Shine

A decent little drinking game could be devised from this Disney Channel movie. But since this is a Disney Channel movie, it should probably be an anti-drinking game. So: take a drink whenever a character rises above stereotype, you hear a piece of fresh dialogue, or a plot development takes a surprising turn. Trust me, you'll be stone sober by film's end. A cross between Cyrano de Bergerac, 8 Mile and The Jazz Singer, filmmaker Paul Hoen's Let it Shine stars Tyler James Williams as Cyrus, a rap and hip-hop loving pastor's son (“Rap is the devil's music,” his disapproving father thunders). Cyrus is a rhyming virtuoso who secretly works at the local hip-hop music club, but he lacks the self confidence to take the stage. When his song wins a competition mounted by unrequited crush Roxie (Coco Jones), Cyrus allows his best friend to take credit. And so on. The cast is game and the lip-synced production numbers are energetic, but this is the same old song. Optional, at best. (D. Liebenson)