The Fits

This mysterious and intriguing indie will probably only appeal to a certain slice of viewer, especially those that don't need the plot elements of a film to all fit neatly together. I usually like my movies to have decent resolutions to any questions raised, but this movie kept me interested throughout its sparse 1 hr. and 12 min. time frame.

Royalty Hightower is exceptional in her starring role here as 11-year- old Toni, who's training for boxing at a Cincinnati community center with her older brother Jermaine (De'Sean Minor), who is employed there. When Toni sees an acclaimed dance team training at the center she joins them, but has trouble fitting in due her her shyness. She will eventually bond with another new young dancer Beezy, very ably played by Alexis Nesblett.

Soon however, things become very strange, as several of the older girls begin to get seizure-like symptoms, labeled "the fits". No one can seem to find the cause of these fits, and this causes chaos amongst the dance team.

Overall, this film's strengths are the natural acting of the cast and its very creepy atmospherics. However, don't expect any character development or entire resolutions to the plot machinations. Also, I would say Anna Rose Holmer, who is making her major motion picture debut as writer and director, shows good promise here, and I'd certainly be interested in seeing what else she brings to the screen.

I just don't get the reviews for this film. The acting was good if not great, but the story is just plain boring. Very little happens and what does is pretty unremarkable. I fell asleep about 3/4 of the way through the movie. My wife made it through the whole thing and was especially disappointed with the ending. Don't waste your time unless you're trying to get some sleep. OK, I have to add more lines to satisfy this site. That is so irritating and the reason I only add reviews for vastly underrated, and vastly overrated movies in my opinion. More lines needed. More lines needed. More lines needed. And yet more lines are needed. Unfortunately,even more lines are needed. Finally, enough lines!

"The Fits" (2015 release; 72 min.) brings the story of Toni, an 11 yr. old girl. As the movie opens, we see Toni doing push-ups and working out in the boxing gym alongside her older brother. But afterwards she watches a nearby dancer troupe doing their workouts, and it's clear Toni wants to join them. Toni's brother encourages her and it's not long before Toni enters a whole new world. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the debut full-length feature from writer-director Anna Rose Holmer. Here she picks a familiar topic (coming of age, fitting in and social acceptance), but Holmer brings it in a unique way, focusing on an 11 yr. old girl whom we watch as she tries to find her way. There is no dialogue to speak of during the first 20-25 minutes of the movie. Instead, we decipher all we need to know from Toni's face and body expressions. Newcomer Royalty Hightower as Toni as an absolute sensation. Did I mention that the entire cast of this film is African-American? (Interestingly, Holmer herself is not.) The movie is set entirely in Cincinnati's gritty West End neighborhood (much of the film being set at the Lincoln Community Center). As a complete aside, I also noticed in the opening credits that the movie is presented by the Biennale di Venezia, yes, the famous arts fest. Bottom line: "The Fits" is an abstract, yet very real comment on a young girl's coming of age, dealing with social acceptance and related challenges.

The movie opened recently at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Tuesday evening screening where I saw this at was PACKED, to my great (but pleasant) surprise. The fact the movie was shot here surely had a lot to due with it. Equally surprising was to see how many young kids were in the audience. If you are on the fence, perhaps because the movie's short running time, please do yourself a favor and check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. You will thank me later.

'THE FITS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Low-budget indie drama, that was a huge hit with critics last year. It's about an 11-year-old tomboy that's really struggling to fit into a girls' dance troupe, when the girls begin to suffer from an unexplained epidemic of seizure like fits. The film was co-written and directed by Anna Rose Holmer, in her feature film debut, and it stars newcomer Royalty Hightower. The movie was made on a budget of just $168,000 and it still managed to become one of the best reviewed films of last year (with critics). I enjoyed it, but obviously not as much as most of the critics have.

Toni (Hightower) is an 11-year-old girl, living in Cincinnati, who trains regularly at a Community Center boxing gym, with her brother Jermaine (Da'Sean Minor). One day she notices a girls' dance troupe practicing at the same gym, and she decides she might want to join them. After her brother talks her into it, Toni attends tryouts for the team. As she then attempts to fit in with the other girls, they randomly begin having unexplained violent fits, and it appears some sort of an epidemic is occurring!

The film starts out like a coming-of-age urban drama, and then it morphs into something else. There definitely appears to be a lot of symbolism going on in it, for real life problems and issues, but I'm not sure what the point of the whole movie is. Still, it is really well shot and acted. I'll admit it's definitely a well made movie, I guess I'm just not the right audience member to quite understand it all.

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I always find it somewhat of a shame when a movie that has everything going for it falls flat on its face. That's what happens in "The Fits". The description here on IMDb properly describes the movie. Unfortunately the movie itself does little more to take it beyond that description.

The directing and acting is excellent, especially by lead actor Royalty Hightower. She is not alone, backed up by some excellent casting for the parts of her best friend and her brother.

Were this a simple slice-of-life movie it would be acceptable and interesting. But it doesn't qualify as such. It takes the viewer down a specific road of semi-realistic insight into the life of a black adolescent girl, then throws that all out the window with what can only be described as a plunge into script-writing and directing self-indulgence. I always wonder how so many people can be involved in creating a work like this without someone stepping up and saying, "Hey, has anyone noticed the plot line stinks?" At the end, the viewer is left asking, "What was that supposed to be all about?". The result is a mixture of enjoyment, shock and disappointment as we realize yet another movie with potential has been flippantly cast to the canines.

Yes, pun intended. You'll need some humor after watching this.