When I read the synopsis for Leave it On The Floor, it was listed as a comedy and a drama; a dramedy if you will. At no point did it mention this would be a musical. I have a love hate relationship with musicals. If nobody could sing in this musical, I was gong to turn it off so fast that Sonic the Hedgehog would have been impressed. Luckily, they could sing, and that means I stuck around.
We open the film with Brad being caught watching gay porn because he shares a computer with his mother, and didn't even close the browser. She just hit the back button and got an eye full. Well, she kicks him out the house and he hits the road. After a few days he meets Carter, and they both pickpocket each other. Brad chases carter into a Ball competition. A mostly Black and Latino LGBTQ competition where people compete in various categories with their "walks," which is like a combination of a fashion runway show and dance contest. You just have to see it to understand.
Princess picks Brad out of the crowd as a newbee and breaks down the scene. Princess invites Brad to stay at the House of Eminence under Queen Queef, or Franklin, he doesn't care. But Franklin says Brad has to go, so he sleeps in his car and keeps hanging around, until he agrees to walk for House Eminence. While Brad is in love with Carter, Princess is looking for a fling with Brad. Princess sets Brad up and gets him kicked out of the house as well as out of Carter's heart. Brad devices a plan to get Carter back, but things start to go down hill.
Again, the music is good, and most of the key points are told through the story. The characters are mostly interesting, but we don't get a ton of background and the background we do get sometimes seems random. There's a scene at a funeral where Carter randomly tells everyone he was thrown in the dumpster as a baby.
In fact, the biggest downside to this movie for me was the fact that they kept piling on the drama, for no real reason. Why did Bard need to be suicidal? It didn't add anything to the story except a way for Carter to find him. Eppi didn't need to die for them to reconcile. Caldwell was just in the film to spit some dope rap verses about being on the DL and making Queef look like the hypocrite everyone told us she was. Princess tried to breakup the house just to get back at Queef and Carter for a beef that we never learn about. There's a moment when Brad's mother comes back into his life to say she's running off with her lover we know nothing about. She's in two scenes the whole movie, and one of them wasn't necessary. Now, if she had said Caldwell was her lover, that would be interesting.
The movie is silly, and kind of written shakily at points. However, it is a good introduction to Ballroom Culture if you don't want to just dive in. I'll also give them credit for a wide range of body types, and skin tones which doesn't always happen in movies. It's a fun watch, even if you're in it just for some laughs.
You can check out some of my short stories at 12 AM Fiction or if you like vampires follow my web serial Exsanguinate and of course hear me on the Powerbomb Jutsu podcast if you enjoy pro wrestling.
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