View source for You Got Served

{{short description|2004 film by Chris Stokes}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2012}}

{{Infobox film
| name           = You Got Served
| image          = You-got-served-poster.jpg 
| caption       = Theatrical release poster 
| director       = [[Chris Stokes (filmmaker)|Chris Stokes]]
| writer         = Chris Stokes
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* Marcus Morton
* Cassius Vernon Weathersby
* [[Billy Pollina]]
* Kris Cruz Toledo
}}
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Marques Houston]]
* [[Omarion|Omari Grandberry]]
* [[J-Boog|Jarrell Houston]]
* [[Raz-B|De'Mario Thornton]]
* [[Lil' Fizz|Dreux Frederic]]
* [[Jennifer Freeman]]
* [[Lil' Kim]]
* [[Michael Taliferro|Michael "Bear" Taliferro]]
* [[Alani Vasquez|Alani "La La" Vasquez]]
* [[Meagan Good]]
* [[Steve Harvey]]
}}
| music          = [[Tyler Bates]]
| cinematography = [[David Hennings]]
| editing        = Earl Watson
| distributor    = [[Screen Gems]] (through [[Sony Pictures Releasing]]<ref>{{cite web|title=You Got Served (2004)|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|access-date=17 March 2021|url=http://catalog.afi.com/Film/63294-YOU-GOTSERVED?sid=52a87951-a1e5-426d-98d1-c4c95c3cf774&sr=12.351785&cp=1&pos=0}}</ref>)
| released       = {{Film date|2004|1|30}}
| runtime        = 95 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $8 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=yougotserved.htm|title=You Got Served|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=2016-08-02}}</ref>
| gross          = $50.6 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''You Got Served''''' is a 2004 American [[Dance film|dance]] [[Drama film|drama]] film written and directed by [[Chris Stokes (filmmaker)|Chris Stokes]], who was also the business manager of the performers who were the film's main characters: recording artist [[Marques Houston]] and the [[boy band]] [[B2K]]. 

The plot follows a group of [[dancer]]s who take part in a [[street dancing]] competition. Filming took place Between May 1, 2003, and June 25, 2003. 

''You Got Served'' was released on January 30, 2004 by [[Screen Gems]]. The film received negative reviews from critics, and grossed $51 million against an $8M budget. It was followed by a sequel, ''[[You Got Served: Beat the World]]'' (2011).

==Plot==

In [[Los Angeles, California]], Elgin and David lead their promising dance crew in street dancing battles at a warehouse owned by Mr. Rad, where they defeat another crew led by Vick (Raz-B). David and Elgin's crew consists of notably: Rico (J-Boog), Rashaan (Lil' Fizz), and Sonny (Young Rome). Rico takes care of a little kid he knows named  Teshawn, whom the crew calls "Lil Saint".

To earn money for the battles, David and Elgin deliver for a drug lord named Emerald. They are challenged by Wade, a rich kid from [[Orange County, California|Orange County]], for $5,000. After winning another battle, David and Elgin tell their crew about the challenge they received from Wade. They mention that the 2 of them will put up the whole $5,000, and if their team wins, Elgin and David will split $3,000 and the other members of the crew will split the remaining $2,000. Their crew member Sonny is not fond of this idea and believes that because it is a team performance, the entire team should split the $5,000 evenly. All of the other members disagree with Sonny and understand that because Elgin and David are the ones putting up the money in the first place, it makes sense that they get a bigger cut of the profits.

Later on while Elgin, David and their crew are playing basketball, Wade and his best friend Max show up to the court and tell Elgin that they're surprised that he accepted their challenge. Elgin declares that the battle will be held a week later, but Wade and Max laugh at him and bait him in, claiming it's pathetic that Elgin and his crew needs an entire week to practice and that the battle should be held that night. Feeling prideful and not wanting to back down, Elgin accepts the challenge to compete that night, even though he and David they only have $3,500 at the moment. Thus, Elgin decides to borrow the remaining $1,500 from his grandmother for the battle.

Due to the amount of money on the line, Mr. Rad announces there will be no fighting during the battle and hires an off duty LAPD officer named Mr. Chuck to stop any potential ruckus. Upon arriving at the venue, David and Elgin realize that Sonny is not there, and he is also not picking up his cell phone. A few minutes later, Sonny arrives but he betrays the team and walks over to Wade and Max's side of the dance floor, revealing that he's now on their team. A fight breaks out after David and Elgin realize their opponent has stolen their dance set and that Sonny taught their opponents the routine, effectively “selling them out.” Wade wins the money and his dance crew takes over the Mr. Rad’s warehouse.

As the days go on, David has been getting romantically closer to Liyah, Elgin's sister. While discussing their loss to Wade on the basketball court, Elgin and David decide that they have to pick up some extra shifts for Emerald to recoup their losses. Vick arrives and asks to join their crew, informing the duo that his crew disbanded after repeatedly losing battles. David leaves the court and tells Elgin that instead of picking him up so that they can go to Emerald's spot, David will meet him up there separately, as he has something to do at the moment. That "something to do" turns out to be going on a date with Liyah. While on a date, David gets excessive calls from his friends, to the annoyance of Liyah. Elgin gets a call from Emerald for a delivery of drugs and says that he and David need to come in earlier. When Elgin tries to call David, Liyah turns off David's phone before David can see who's calling, leaving Elgin to do the job himself. Elgin is ambushed by local thugs who take Emerald's money, leaving Elgin hospitalized, in trouble with Emerald, and furious at David for not showing up. The friends split up and Elgin forbids Liyah to see David, ignoring her and David's desire to help him.

As David and Elgin start their own separate dance crews, Rico and Rashaan refuse to battle, staying neutral out of respect for both parties. Rico tells David and Elgin about the "Big Bounce", a $50,000 dance competition purportedly sponsored by [[MTV]], which will provide the winning crew the opportunity to perform in a [[Lil' Kim]] video. Elgin sees this as a way to pay back Emerald and his grandmother. Attempts to bring Elgin and David together, particularly by Liyah and Rico, are unsuccessful as Elgin refuses to listen to reason and David grows tired of Elgin pushing him away. Later on, Emerald and his guards approach Elgin at his grandmother's home and throw Elgin inside of his SUV. Emerald fires Elgin from ever working for him again and informs him that since David called Emerald and begged him not to hurt Elgin, he gives Elgin “a few weeks” to return his money to him, warning Elgin that if he doesn't pay him back, he won't “walk, let alone dance again”.

At the Big Bounce Competition, many crews impress the judges in the qualifying rounds, including Wade's crew. Liyah talks with Mr. Rad about David and Elgin's problems, and Mr. Rad reveals that he has already taken care of the situation with Emerald as he put a call in to his friend at the LAPD, Mr. Chuck. Mr. Rad tells Liyah that the duo will need to work out their problems or Wade will win the competition and effectively beat them again. As this conversation is happening, David's crew is eliminated after two slip-ups, while Elgin's crew makes it to the finals.

David and Liyah are then in a diner talking about David being eliminated from the competition. Rashann runs in to tell them that Lil Saint has been shot and they need to find Rico to tell him the news and head to the hospital. At the hospital, the crew finds out that Lil Saint has died after being shot in a [[drive-by]]. The next day, Rico tells Elgin that they should reunite the crew in honor of Lil' Saint. David arrives a few minutes later, asked by Liyah to try to end the feud, but explains that by the rules of the competition, they must compete with their initial crews and are not allowed to add members. David and Elgin still refuse to forgive each other.

Elgin's crew, renamed "The Lil' Saints", compete at the Big Bounce finals, hosted by [[Wade Robson]] and [[Lil' Kim]]. After multiple crews perform their routine, the winner is revealed to be a tie between "The Lil' Saints" and "Wade's Crew". Both crews refuse a tie, and Lil' Kim (advised by Mr. Rad), declares a head-to-head battle competition, with no rules. The no-rules effect allows other people to join the battling crews. David asks to join Elgin's crew, and although Elgin initially refuses, Rico reasons with Elgin by saying they can’t win without David. Elgin then forgives and allows David on his team.

They battle Wade's crew, dedicating the battle to Lil' Saint, and win after receiving the crowd's loudest approval. Elgin gives his blessing for David and Liyah to be together. Wade and Max confront the winners saying that David and Elgin got lucky by winning. David replies, "Y'all just mad, 'cause today, ''you'' suckas got served." As the crowd chants "served", Wade and Max leave in shame and David and Elgin celebrate their victory with their friends and family while holding their $50,000 check.

==Cast==
* [[Marques Houston]] as Elgin Smith III; co-leader of the Lil' Saints and David's best friend
* [[Omarion|Omari "Omarion" Grandberry]] as David; co-leader of the Lil Saints and Elgin's best friend
*[[J-Boog|Jarrell "J-Boog" Houston]] as Rico; friend of Elgin and David, member of the Lil' Saints, mentor and brother figure to TeShawn "Lil Saint" Miller
* [[Raz-B|De'Mario "Raz-B" Thornton]] as Vick; member of the Lil Saints
* [[Lil' Fizz|Dreux "Lil' Fizz" Frederic]] as Rashann; friend of Rico, Elgin, and David, member of the Lil' Saints
* [[Jennifer Freeman]] as Liyah Smith; Elgin's sister who has a crush on David
* [[Meagan Good]] as "Beautifull"; Liyah's friend
* [[Steve Harvey]] as Mr. Rad; owner of the warehouse where dance battles take place, gives advice to Elgin and David
* [[Christopher Jones (actor, born 1982)|Christopher Jones]] as Wade; rival of Elgin and David
* [[Young Rome|Jerome "Young Rome" Jones]] as Sonny; former crew member of Elgin and David who betrays them
* [[Robert Hoffman (actor)|Robert Hoffman]] as Max; friend of Wade and member of Wade's Crew
* [[Malcolm David Kelley]] as TeShawn "Lil Saint" Miller; crew member of David, dies before the Big Bounce dance battles
* [[Jackée Harry]] as Mama Smith; mother of Elgin and Liyah
* [[Esther Scott]] as Grandmama; grandmother of Elgin and Liyah
* [[Michael Taliferro]] as "Emerald"; crime boss who Elgin and David work for
* [[Wade Robson]] as Himself
* [[Lil' Kim]] as Herself
* [[La La Anthony]] as Herself
* Simon Rugala as Choreographer
* [[Kevin Federline]] as Dancer
* Clifford McGhee as Dancer
* Dyneisha Rollins as Dancer 
* [[Columbus Short]] as Dancer
* [[Harry Shum Jr.]] as Dancer
* Mike Bodden as Dancer
* Aaron Davis as Dancer
* Simon Au as Dancer
* Orlando Perry as Dancer
* Babbal Kumar as Dancer

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name         = You Got Served: Music from the Motion Picture
| type         = soundtrack
| artist       = [[B2K]] and various artists
| released     = December 23, 2003
| genre        = 
*[[Contemporary R&B|R&B]]
*[[Hip hop music|hip hop]]
| length       = 
| label        = [[Epic Records|Epic]]
| producer     = [[Chris Stokes (record producer)|Chris Stokes]], [[Marques Houston]], DR Period, Tony Scott, Precision, J Classic, Pruven, Top Dawg, Big Tank, Jazz Nixon
| prev_title   = 
| prev_year    = 
| next_title   = 
| next_year    = 
}}
The film soundtrack features songs primarily by [[B2K]], but also [[Marques Houston]], and many others.  There were some profanities in the soundtrack such as "Streets Is Callin'" but did not receive a PA label. The soundtrack was released on December 23, 2003, through [[Epic Records]].  Also, there was a release of a music video for B2K's single "Badaboom" featuring [[Fabolous]] and Marques Houston was the guest appearance. The soundtrack peaked at No. 34 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], No. 7 on the [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]] chart, and No. 2 on the [[Top Soundtracks]] chart. The single "Badaboom" performed by B2K and [[Fabolous]] reached No. 59 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. This is the last album B2K made together before their break up in 2004 and before coming back in 2018.

[[AllMusic]] rated the soundtrack three out of five points.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r672383|first=Matt|last=Collar}}</ref>

'''Track listing'''
#"Badaboom" - 3:41 ([[B2K]] featuring [[Fabolous]]) Vocals: Omarion, Raz-B, J-Boog
#"Do That Thing" - 3:36 (B2K featuring [[Lil' Kim]])
#"Take It to the Floor" - 3:42 (B2K)
#"Sprung" - 3:41 (B2K) Lead Vocals: Omarion (Background Vocals:J Booj & Raz-B)
#"Out the Hood" - 4:45 (B2K) Vocals: Omarion and J-Boog
#"Streets Is Callin'" - 4:13 (B2K)
#"Fizzo Got Flow" - 3:24  (B2K)
#"Happy" - 3:44  ([[Jhené Aiko|Jhené]] featuring B2K)  
#"Smile" - 3:00 ([[Marques Houston]]) 
#"Smellz Like a Party" - 4:12 ([[O'Ryan (singer)|O'Ryan]] featuring Rufus Blaq)  
#"The One" - 3:49 ([[ATL (band)|ATL]]) 
#"Can I Get It Back" - 3:08 (XSO Drive featuring [[Red Cafe]])  
#"Ante Up" (Robbin Hoodz Theory) - 3:52 ([[M.O.P.]] featuring [[Funkmaster Flex]]) (produced by DR Period)

{{columns-start}}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly charts for the ''You Got Served'' soundtrack
! scope="col"| Chart (2004)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[ARIA Charts]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia|edition=pdf|pages=44}}</ref> 
| 71
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|34|artist=Soundtrack|rowheader=true|access-date=September 12, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardRandBHipHop|7|artist=Soundtrack|rowheader=true|access-date=September 12, 2020}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardSoundtrack|2|artist=Soundtrack|rowheader=true|access-date=September 12, 2020}}
|}
{{column}}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Year-end charts for the ''You Got Served'' soundtrack
! scope="col"| Chart (2004)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2004/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2004|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 12, 2020}}</ref>
| 87
|}
{{columns-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for ''You Got Served'' soundtrack}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|award=Gold|artist=B2K|title=You Got Served|certyear=2004|relyear=2003|access-date=September 1, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

==Release==
The film was released on [[DVD]] by Sony Pictures on May 18, 2004. The film debuted for the first time on the [[Blu-ray]] format on October 4, 2016, in a triple feature release by Mill Creek Entertainment. The other two films in the bundle include ''[[Gridiron Gang]]'' (2006) and ''[[Stomp the Yard]]'' (2007).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/You-Got-Served-and-Gridiron-Gang-and-Stomp-the-Yard-Blu-ray/163056/|title = You Got Served / Gridiron Gang / Stomp the Yard Blu-ray (Sports Triple Feature)}}</ref>

== Box office ==
''You Got Served'' opened at the #1 spot in the United States and grossed $40.3 million; the total worldwide gross was $48.6 million.<ref name="mojo" />

==Reception==
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|score=14|average=4|count=70|consensus=The dance sequences are exhilarating, but everything else about this movie is sloppy and generic.|ref=|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}<ref>{{cite web|title=You Got Served – Rotten Tomatoes|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/you_got_served/|work= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date= 2022-11-14 }}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|37|24|access-date=May 30, 2024}}{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] assigned the film an average grade of "A-" on its A+ to F scale.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

==Sequels==
The official dance tutorials from the film were released shortly after the movie's release in 2004 on a tutorial DVD titled ''You Got Served, Take It To The Streets''.

''[[You Got Served: Beat the World]]'' is a straight-to-DVD film released on June 21, 2011, starring [[Lil' C]].
   
''Beat the World'' is a film written and directed by [[Robert Adetuyi]] (writer of ''[[Stomp the Yard]]'') released in 2011, by InnerCity Films. It was distributed in the United States on DVD by Sony Home Entertainment under the name ''[[You Got Served: Beat the World]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=You Got Served: Beat the World (2011) – IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568139/|work=IMDB|access-date=9 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=You Got Served: Beat The World|url=http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/yougotservedbeattheworld/|publisher=[[Sony Pictures]]|access-date=January 23, 2019}}</ref> The film stars Tyrone Brown, [[Mishael Morgan]], Nikki Grant and [[Parkour]] artist Chase Armitage.
   
The original soundtrack was produced by [[Frank Fitzpatrick]] and released on Hip Hop Connect. It features [[KRS-One]], [[K’naan]], [[Ziggy Marley]], [[Nneka (singer)|Nneka]], [[Les Nubians]], [[MV Bill]], [[Talib Kweli]], [[Sway DaSafo|Sway]] and Lina.
 
In 2019, a direct sequel to the film titled ''You Got Served 2'', was announced.<ref>{{cite news|title=You Got Served 2 Teaser Comes with a Warning: Ya'll Ain't Ready|url=https://movieweb.com/you-got-served-2-teaser-trailer/|work=[[MovieWeb]]|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>

== Pop culture ==

The movie is parodied by the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "[[You Got F'd in the A]]".

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0365957}}
* {{mojo title|yougotserved}}
* {{IMDb title|0405491|You Got Served Take It To The Streets}}

{{Chris Stokes}}

[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:2000s teen drama films]]
[[Category:2000s musical drama films]]
[[Category:American dance films]]
[[Category:American musical drama films]]
[[Category:American teen drama films]]
[[Category:Hip-hop dance]]
[[Category:2000s hip-hop films]]
[[Category:Screen Gems films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Tyler Bates]]
[[Category:Films about dance competitions]]
[[Category:2004 drama films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Chris Stokes]]
[[Category:English-language musical drama films]]
[[Category:2004 musical films]]
[[Category:English-language teen drama films]]