I got to see a preview of this film on the last night of the Latino Film Festival here in San Diego, CA last night and was pleasantly surprised. I originally thought the theme seemed to have already been done to death, but there was enough new here to keep the interest. I was especially pleased with the right amount of humor mixed in with the drama. Just a bit more entertaining than an episode of Boston Public (which is a good thing), but with all the realism. YaYa Decosta, of America's Next Top Model fame, puts in a good performance as do most of the kids. I also liked the fact that the story didn't get bogged down by too many other story lines and even left one of them open as the movie comes to an end. Stay for the entire dance scene at the end during the credits, it's worth seeing.
7 out of 10, see it now or wait and rent the DVD
7 out of 10, see it now or wait and rent the DVD