Jamilah (Echikunwoke) knows what she wants out of life and goes after it. She was the president of her sorority, captain of their step team, works for Dean Berman (Brown), and now has her sights set on Harvard Law School. She needs a letter of recommendation from her parents, Langston (L. Warren Young) and Yvonne (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who are alumni. They refuse to the write the recommendation, so she turns to the Dean for help.
The hard-partying girls of the Sigma Beta Beta franchise have embarrassed the college. The Dean agrees to write a glowing recommendation letter, if Jamilah agrees to fix the reputation of the Sigma Beta Beta's. She reluctantly agrees to turn the girls into a step team... but doesn't want anyone else to know. The Sigma Beta Beta's fight constantly and don't respect each other. Their leader, Danielle (Smith), hates the idea, but agrees to the deal. The only one who is excited about the team is Jamilah's friend Beth (Sher). Can Jamilah help the Sigma Beta Beta's get back on track and get her letter for Harvard?
Step-dancing or stepping has been a staple of traditionally black fraternities and sororities since the 1900s. It is still popular in the Greek systems.
Like most dance films, the story isn't great. The beginning is rough, but it gets better in the second half. The dances, choreographed by Aakomon Jones, are great: intricate and mesmerizing. Director Charles Stone III, who also directed Drumline, keeps the main focus on the dance so that you don't miss anything. The dances are the main reason to watch.
The film was originally supposed to premiere in theaters in 2017, but that fell through and later that year Netflix acquired the distribution rights.
Overall, it is ok but not great.
Step Sisters (2017) 108 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content, partying, language and drug references
Director: Charles Stone III
Starring: Megalyn Echikunwoke as Jamilah
Lyndon Smith as Danielle
Eden Sher as Beth
Gage Golightly as Libby
Alessandra Torresani as Amber
Nia Jervier as Saundra
Marque Richardson as Kevin
Robert Curtis Brown as Dean Berman
Matt McGorry as Dane
Naturi Naughton as Aisha
Ashlee Brie Gillum as Cheryl
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