Netflix’s Best of the Best is for the millennials who grew up obsessing over dance movies like Step Up, Take the Lead, and more. Fun, refreshing, and a gorgeous love letter to friendships, it’s another lovely new adult drama to add to the list of favorites that have been released this year.
As an Armenian, few things make me happier than seeing representation on my screen in any form. You don’t realize how othered people typically are in films that are predominantly white until something more inclusive comes along and it reminds you of everything that was missing when we were kids. And that thing is true inclusivity in every way, shape, or form—understanding that music, dances, food, and cultural beliefs are what showcase the strength in a community more than anything else.
I had so much fun with Netflix’s Best of the Best that despite being exhausted and in an awful mood, I was grinning from ear to ear by the end. Completely pumped in a way only a movie that’s this joyous could evoke. Starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Priyanka Kedia, Hasan Minhaj, Chaneil Kular, Ankur Rathee, Shreya Navile, Becky Alex, Nihar Duvvuri, Nico Greetham, Amryn Khurana, Tanishq Joshi, Lilly Singh, Sasha Bhasin, Janina Gavankar, Saara Chaudry, Kavi, and Ramachandran, everyone brings incredible performances to our screen, on and off the stage.
But as a story centered around best friends first and foremost, Ramakrishnan and Kedia are the ones who dazzle the most. The joy that bubbles out of them in the early moments, coupled with the vulnerability we get when their friendship is tested, is no small feat, and it’s precisely what makes the movie so memorable. There are also a few things I adore the way I love a movie where romance is the main plot, but now and then, a love story between friends or family members glistens just as beautifully. And movies like that are the ones people aren’t watching nearly as often because you’ll constantly see complaints that there isn’t proper representation of friendships on our screens.
Like Polite Society, which was one of the best movies of 2023, Netflix’s Best of the Best delivers another phenomenal feat centered around South Asian women who’d do anything for each other. With a unique plot and fully fleshed-out characters, it results in the kind of movie that’ll be so easy to turn to when people want excellent storytelling. It’s especially going to be a blast for those of us who have nostalgia for movies centered around dance clubs and competition. For movies where the drama doesn’t feel like drama for the sake of it, but comes from the kind of heartaches that only profound loyalty and unyielding love can patch up.
There’s so much vibrancy and joy in the music and choreography as well that I’d be remiss not to mention it. Part of what makes movies like this so enjoyable for those of us who grew up loving it is the indescribable energy that comes from watching a truly remarkable performance. And everything about the performances on and off the stage in Best of the Best is remarkable.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Netflix