If you want better romance quality
Choose Heartstopper Forever. It scores 4.7 vs 3.2 for romance quality, with a 4.1 overall score.
Best of the Best Movie Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for electric choreography, warm lead chemistry, and specific South Asian-American perspective. Skip it if predictable dance-movie plotting or a slower, conflict-heavy second half will bother you.
Best for
Best suited to viewers who enjoy dance movies, female-friendship stories, campus coming-of-age comedy, and South Asian cultural specificity delivered with music and spectacle.
Not for
Less suited to viewers who need an unpredictable plot, deep development for the full supporting cast, or consistently brisk pacing across the second half.
Verdict
Best of the Best works most convincingly when it lets dance and friendship carry the movie. Reviewers repeatedly praise the choreography, the cultural specificity of its South Asian-American college world, and the lived-in chemistry between Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia. The comedy and soundtrack also land well for many critics, making it an upbeat throwback to crowd-pleasing dance films. The tradeoff is familiarity: several reviews call the plot highly predictable, and opinions split on whether the second-half drama, editing, and near-two-hour runtime maintain the early momentum. Its strongest moments feel vibrant and personal; its weakest rely on genre beats viewers may recognize long before they arrive.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
40 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.025 (63%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.412 (30%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.42 (5%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.41 (3%)
Pros
-
Choreography is the clearest consensus strength: reviewers call the routines electric, inventive, culturally varied, and exciting enough to carry even the most familiar story beats.
-
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia are consistently praised for making Maya and Anjali feel like longtime friends, with natural banter, warmth, irritation, and emotional history.
-
The two leads are one of the strongest points of agreement, with Priyanka Kedia and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan repeatedly praised for charisma, energy, and emotional credibility.
-
The friendship story frequently lands with real feeling, from painful arguments to a finale that several reviewers found genuinely moving or uplifting.
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The comedy is a major strength for most reviewers, with quick banter and culturally specific jokes landing often. A smaller number note that some jokes fall flat.
-
Most reviewers celebrate the specific South Asian-American setting, dance traditions, and female friendship at the center. A minority argue that parts of the writing feel out of touch or would benefit from deeper female authorship.
Cons
-
Predictability is the most consistent story complaint, with several reviewers saying the film follows familiar college and dance-movie beats almost exactly.
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One critic says the movie is less of the raucous comedy promised by its synopsis, especially once the more dramatic second half takes over.
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The romance is secondary to the friendship. Some reviewers find the love interests useful to the leads’ growth, while others reject one pairing as formulaic or unappealing.
Cast & Creators
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AnjaliShe is one of the strongest points of consensus, praised for lead energy, ease, subtle emotional work, and believable chemistry with Ramakrishnan.
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MayaShe is repeatedly praised for charisma, comic bite, physicality, and emotional vulnerability as Maya, though one critic feels the performance remains too close to her Never Have I Ever persona.
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Professor LatifReviews frequently praise his comic and writing contributions, from a tightly structured script to culturally specific humor; his supporting professor role is also described as a welcome presence.
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WriterHer direction is consistently associated with infectious energy, clear dance staging, momentum, and a strong grasp of the film’s cultural tensions.
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WriterHis writing is repeatedly praised for sharp structure, topical comedy, cultural specificity, and ensemble balance.
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ChoreographerHer choreography is repeatedly identified as a major strength, giving the dance sequences distinct identities, cultural range, and memorable energy.
View all 40 feature scores and cast & creators
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in family friendliness, sexual content level, age appropriateness, near average in score quality, romance quality, below average in plot originality.
Comparison summary
39 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher35 (90%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts3 (8%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower1 (3%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| family friendliness | 5.0 | 2.6 | +2.4 |
| sexual content level | 5.0 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
| age appropriateness | 5.0 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
| plot clarity | 4.8 | 2.8 | +1.9 |
| tonal consistency | 4.8 | 3.2 | +1.5 |
| story quality | 4.3 | 3.2 | +1.1 |
| screenplay quality | 4.1 | 2.9 | +1.2 |
| world-building | 5.0 | 3.6 | +1.4 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better plot originality
Choose The Invite. It scores 5.0 vs 1.9 for plot originality, with a 4.5 overall score.
If you want better originality
Choose Bouchra. It scores 4.8 vs 3.8 for originality, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better dialogue quality
Choose Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom. It scores 5.0 vs 3.5 for dialogue quality, with a 4.5 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Pitch Perfect
- Similar: story structure The reviewer says the movie follows essentially the same trajectory and beats as Pitch Perfect.
- Similar: dance-movie formula The reviewer says the film too closely resembles a South Asian dance version of Pitch Perfect.
Step Up 2 The Streets
- Similar: climactic dance staging The climactic portable-light dance is directly compared with a similar Step Up 2 The Streets sequence.
FAQ
Is the dancing a major strength?
Yes. Choreography is the clearest area of agreement, with reviewers repeatedly praising the routines as energetic, creative, culturally varied, and exciting to watch.
How are the two leads?
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia receive strong praise for charisma, physical commitment, and believable best-friend chemistry, though one critic finds Ramakrishnan too close to her prior persona.
Is the story original?
The cultural perspective feels fresh to many reviewers, but the underlying college dance-competition structure is widely described as familiar and predictable.
Does the movie represent South Asian culture well?
Most reviewers praise its specificity, mix of dance traditions, and South Asian-American point of view. A few critics argue that some generational or gendered issues deserved deeper treatment.
Is it funny?
Mostly. Several reviewers praise the quick banter and culturally specific jokes, while a smaller number say some jokes miss.
Does the second half slow down?
For some critics, yes. The repeated friendship conflict is said to lower the energy and make the runtime feel bloated, while others find the pacing strong throughout.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - LadyJenevia
- Review score
- 4.3
Article Reviews
rogerebert.com
For a film primarily about dancing, the editing undercuts the choreography at every turn.
- Review score
- 2.8
theguardian.com
What’s engaging in this tale of two best girl friends and a dance competition is not the familiar plot but the whip-fast telling and...
- Review score
- 4.4
decider.com
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia charm as life-long besties in this new film.
- Review score
- 4.6
ladygeeksmedia.com
So much of it is in the title, but Best of the Best is one of the best movies we've gotten all year, centered on friendships.
- Review score
- 5.0
seat42f.com
Best of the Best is a warm, funny Netflix dance comedy starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Priyanka Kedia as UCLA Bollywood-fusion competitors.
- Review score
- 4.8
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