Are you a fan of teen dance movies like Step Up and Save the Last Dance?
Love the competition vibe of Bring It On and Pitch Perfect?
Then Work It is for you.
Work It gets a prestigious stamp of approval from singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, who co-produced
the movie.
But that's not the only interesting tidbit about this highly anticipated romantic dance
film.
Here's what you need to know before watching Work It.
In Work It, Sabrina Carpenter stars as Quinn Ackerman, a high school senior who dreams
of going to college at her late father's prestigious alma mater.
In order to have the best chance of acceptance, she decides to join her school's dance team
to pad out her college application.
But there's a problem: Quinn can't dance.
At all.
When the school's champion team, the Thunderbirds, very reasonably decide not to let her join,
she decides to start her own squad.
But since the Thunderbirds already have their hands on the school's best dancers, Quinn
has to think outside the box.
Way outside the box.
"This guy is supposed to be the best flipper in town."
"That guy is like 50."
"Not him, the one that looks like Conan O'Brien."
"You're kidding."
The ragtag bunch has less than five months to pull it together and win the big annual
dance competition.
Time to work it.
Not only does Sabrina Carpenter star in Work It as the fiercely determined but clumsy Quinn,
she also executive produced the film and recorded a dance-pop song for the soundtrack titled
"Let Me Move You."
Carpenter is a true triple threat: an actor, singer, and dancer who got her start at the
tender age of 10 when she came in third in a singing contest run by Miley Cyrus.
By age 12, Carpenter was signed to Disney's Hollywood Records for a five-album deal.
She has since released multiple full-length studio albums and had several No. 1 singles
on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart.
In addition to her successful singing career, Carpenter is just as well known for her acting.
After her very first role at age 12 on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, she went on
to appear on Orange Is the New Black and in the Daniel Radcliffe-led horror film Horns.
She then landed one of the main cast roles on the Disney series Girl Meets World.
Since Girl Meets World ended in 2017, Carpenter has starred in films such as The Hate U Give,
The Short History of the Long Road, Tall Girl, and, of course, Work It.
"I keep it lit."
"Squirrel friend, are you for real?"
In Work It, Liza Koshy plays Quinn's close friend and confidante Jas, who helps pull
together the motley crew of dancers.
It's a situation that Koshy has at least some experience with, as she was captain of her
high school dance team.
Of course, she's also an experienced actress who got her start on Vine, and then transitioned
to YouTube fame.
By 2016, Koshy had turned her online ventures into a thriving acting career.
Her first major roles were in the film Boo!
A Madea Halloween and on the series Freakish.
Since then, she has appeared on the YouTube Premium series Escape the Night and Liza on
Demand.
She also went on to host the Nickelodeon game show revival of Double Dare.
During her prolific career, Koshy has been named one of Time's 25 Most Influential People
on the Internet while Teen Vogue called her one of "The 7 Female Comedians You Need to
Know."
Now all that talent has been worked into her newest role.
As Jake, Jordan Fisher holds two essential roles in Work It: the much-needed choreographer
for the gang of offbeat dancers and Quinn's romantic interest.
Dancing comes naturally for Fisher, who got involved in gymnastics at the age of two and
began performing musical theater in elementary school.
As a teen, he started acting when he landed a role on Nickelodeon's iCarly.
He quickly moved on to roles in the Disney Channel's Teen Beach made-for-TV movies and
ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
In 2016, Fisher played Doody on Fox's Grease: Live special.
A few years later, he took on the lead role in Rent: Live.
In between those two productions, he won the mirrorball trophy on Dancing with the Stars,
going on to co-host the Dancing with the Stars: Juniors competition.
But television isn't the only place you may have seen Fisher, he's also appeared on Broadway,
starring in Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton, and has a fruitful career as a singer.
He has released an EP and numerous singles, including "You're Welcome," which he performed
alongside Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda for the end credits for the 2016 animated
Disney film Moana.
Most recently, though, you probably saw Fisher in To All The Boys: P.S.
I Still Love You, in which his character John shows up unexpectedly to sweep Lara Jean off
her feet.
Well, more or less.
"Hi Lara Jean."
"Hi!"
"Ah geez, Lara Jean."
"I'll get the first aid kit."
Work It was written by Alison Peck, who made her breakthrough as the screenwriter for the
2019 animated musical comedy UglyDolls, which was based on a story by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.
The movie follows a group of uniquely unattractive plush toys as they maneuver through the real
world, with voices provided by Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, and others.
Meanwhile, screenwriter, director, and producer Laura Terruso splashed down in 2015 as co-writer
and co-producer of the critically acclaimed indie film Hello, My Name is Doris, starring
Sally Field and directed by Michael Showalter.
Two years later, Terruso wrote, directed, and produced her first feature film, Fits
and Starts, and gained more mainstream attention with the 2018 film Good Girls Get High.
Together, they've made it so Work It will make its way onto Netflix on August 7.
Better lace up those dancing shoes...
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