BATTLE OF THE YEAR | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"BATTLE OF THE YEAR"
(2013) (Josh Holloway, Chris Brown) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A washed-up former coach is hired to assemble an all-star team of American b-boy dancers to compete in an international competition and bring the trophy back home to the country where the craze started.

PLOT:

Jason Blake (JOSH HOLLOWAY) and Dante Graham (LAZ ALONSO) were once teammates on a b-boy dance crew that kicked off the craze commonly known as break dancing. Yet, while Dante went on to success as an entrepreneur, Jason's former success at basketball coaching was overshadowed by the deaths of his wife and son in a car accident. Now washed up and with a drinking problem, he lives in a small, unkempt apartment. At the same time, Dante fears that the waning popularity of b-boying could impact his company's hip-hop product line. Remembering how Jason brought their dance crew together in the past and fully aware of his coaching success, he approaches his old friend about coaching the L.A. b-boy crew for the upcoming Battle of the Year dance competition held in Paris.

Jason is reluctant, but eventually agrees, with the caveat that he have complete control of all coaching decisions, including assigning Dante's employee, Franklyn (JOSH PECK), as his assistant coach. That's followed by shelving the L.A. crew in favor of creating an all-star "dream team" from all corners of the U.S. Among those he chooses are Rooster (CHRIS BROWN) and Do Knock (JON 'DO KNOCK' CRUZ), who are former friends but current adversaries; Lil Adonis (RICHARD MAGUIRE) who doesn't like the fact that Sniper (SAWANDI WILSON) is homophobic toward him; Flipz (IVAN 'FLIPZ' VELEZ) who secretly has a wife and child; and a number of others.

Lodging and training them at a former juvenile detention center, Jason hopes to whip the crew into shape, including repressing egos and getting the members to work together as a team, all with the help of choreographer Stacy (CAITY LOTZ). With little time before the trip to Paris, Jason must whittle the b-boy crew down so that they can best represent America in competing against foreign teams, and especially the South Koreans who've dominated the competition for more than a decade.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Those who are into b-boy dancing (break-dancing) may be interested, as might those who are fans of anyone in the cast.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For language and some rude behavior.

Please watch the following short interview about why I started Screen It and continue to review movies for parents:

To continue reading the review and all of the highly detailed, scene-by-scene listings of the sex, nudity, profanity, violence and more (15 categories):

or

Just $7.95/month or $47/year

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.