Can You Feel the Beat: The Lisa Lisa Story

Lisa Lisa was a major artist with fun, catchy, and influential hits. She deserved a well-made docudrama that truly honored her legacy. Unfortunately, this project missed the mark. The lead performances are very weak, the script lacks incredible depth, and the direction suffers from narrative misfocus. Instead of centering Lisa Lisa and the actual members of Cult Jam, the story shifts strangely toward her friend Toni, a supporting figure whose role in Lisa's life and career is overstated here.

This supporting character overshadowing not only minimizes Lisa Lisa's real story, but it also sidelines Cult Jam's importance entirely. The final result feels inaccurate and off-balance. It comes across more like something made for Tubi rather than a thoughtful, well-researched tribute to an iconic artist who deserved better. (This includes the typical Hollywood culture, social engineering)

I liked this movie even though it felt rushed and the storytelling uneven from the start. The band's sound was the backdrop to my teen and early young adult years, but I knew little about them. So I was motivated to watch the whole movie. Glad I did.

The focus on the sisterhood formed between Lisa and Toni was a compelling story not often found in biopics about women, especially when a queer woman is included. I really appreciated this focus.

That said, I agree with the reviewers who felt the subject deserved a better quality film with a better script. The video of the real-life band at the end sold the whole story, for me. It's a triumph of a lifetime, but the story could have been told more artistically. The actors did the best they could with the material given them, the Puerto Rican representation feels authentic-enough to this Latina to make me cheer the characters on, and this film's revisiting the 80s and 90s also feels authentic, not hyped.

I recommend watching this film, although I wish it had been better.

This movie was horrible. Bad pacing, bad dialog... Just bad. I'm not even sure why this is relative today when she wasn't that big of a deal 4+ decades ago. Sure they had some catchy tunes, but nothing close to superstardom and certainly no longevity. I got through about 45 minutes or so before I could take no more. I just don't get it.

If you like the "rising star" kind of movies it's good. However, the quality is not up to par with the likes of Jobs or The Founder, but more along the lines of the movie about the guy who invented the Flaming Hot Cheeto's. It's a bit rushed, but it's worth a watch if you're familiar with Lisa Lisa. If you don't know who Lisa Lisa is, you'll probably hate it. Again, it's not up to the quality of Straight Outta Compton or Selena.