"It is indeed ironic that Sidney Poitier's recent entry into the youth-dance genre, Fast Forward, is the closest to reaching a higher standard of the traditional Hollywood musical and, within the framework of its clichés, the most intelligent, yet least successful at the box office. The film was carelessly exploited and indifferently released, and deserves a reassessment. It depicts eight fledgling dancers from the suburbs of Sandusky, Ohio, who, convinced of their exceptional talents, journey to New York City to participate in a dance competition called 'The Shootout.' The myth of an accessible metropolis becomes the stuff of dreams, but the wholesome image given to the octet and their interracial camaraderie are distinctive steps forward and far away from the stereotyping expected. Fortunately, the dance numbers are well photographed, and the choreography is 'modern,' inspired by MTV shows, aerobic exercises and the quicksilver movements of Michael Jackson. There is a marvelous dance-confrontation between the protagonists and a rival group, led by a Latino juggernaut called Caesar, and this must be the prime exemplar for dance-modes of the eighties. Don Franklin, as the young black male in the Ohio contingent, creates a powerful image of determination and terpsichorean self-confidence. In every sense, he is a potential star, and Michael De Lorenzo's punkish delineation of Caesar complements Franklin's taciturn heroics. A surprise is Irene Worth, as a sympathetic supporter of the dancers, and one is delighted to see this veteran of the theater of Shaw, Shakespeare and Eliot, getting-down to the nitty-gritty of self expression." Albert Johnson