Anne Fletcher

2.1. Childhood and Education

Fletcher's interest in dance began at the age of 12, after she observed her mother taking a dance class. This inspired her to enroll in dance lessons at a local studio, Turning Point School of the Performing Arts. By the age of 15, she was already performing professionally, making an appearance in the local show Salute to the Superstars at Mr. F's Beef & Bourbon dinner club in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Following her high school graduation, Fletcher relocated to Los Angeles, California, to further her dance education. There, she received professional training from the renowned choreographer Joe Tremaine. Her early career as a professional dancer in Los Angeles included a notable stint as a Laker Girl.

3.1. Choreographic Career

Fletcher's pivotal connection in her career came in 1990 when she met Adam Shankman while they were both hired as dancers for the 62nd Academy Awards. Shortly thereafter, Shankman recruited Fletcher as his assistant choreographer, a collaboration that blossomed into a lasting personal friendship and professional partnership. Fletcher credits her extensive work with Shankman for enabling her to cultivate her own distinct choreographic and film directorial skills, ultimately paving the way for her equally successful career path.

Initially, Fletcher appeared as a dancer in several films, including The Flintstones (1994), The Mask (1994), Tank Girl (1995), Casper (1995), and Titanic (1997). She later transitioned into choreography, contributing to the Oscar-nominated drama film Boogie Nights (1997), which starred Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, and Heather Graham. Fletcher also made an appearance as a dancer in Boogie Nights. Additionally, she choreographed the comedy film A Life Less Ordinary (1997), featuring Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz.

Her extensive choreographic credits include:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) TV series
• George of the Jungle (1997)
• Anastasia (1997)
• Almost Heroes (1998)
• Blast from the Past (1999)
• She's All That (1999)
• The Out-of-Towners (1999)
• Dudley Do-Right (1999)
• Judging Amy (1999) TV series
• Bring It On (2000)
• Grosse Pointe (2000) TV series
• The Family Man (2000)
• The Wedding Planner (2001)
• Monkeybone (2001)
• The Trumpet of the Swan (2001)
• Six Feet Under (2001) TV series
• Maybe It's Me (2001) TV Series
• Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
• Orange County (2002)
• Showboy (2002)
• Like Mike (2002)
• The Master of Disguise (2002)
• Bringing Down the House (2003)
• Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003) (TV)
• Down with Love (2003)
• Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
• Along Came Polly (2004)
• Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
• Catwoman (2004)
• The Pacifier (2005)
• Ice Princess (2005)
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
• Hairspray (2007)
• Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)

3.2. Directorial Career

After accumulating numerous professional choreography credits, often in collaboration with Adam Shankman, Fletcher began to explore a directorial career, encouraged by Shankman. She worked alongside Shankman, who had successfully transitioned from choreography to directing with films like Hairspray (2007) and The Wedding Planner, serving as an associate producer for both, as well as for Step Up.

Fletcher made her directorial debut with the 2006 romantic dance film Step Up, starring Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. The film garnered two Teen Choice Awards nominations in 2007 and one Young Artist Award nomination in the same year. Despite its success, Fletcher declined the opportunity to direct the sequel, fearing that directing another dance film would limit her ability to branch out into other genres. Although she choreographed Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), the directorial role was given to Jon M. Chu. While critics generally panned Step Up 2, it was well-received by audiences, grossing 65.00 M USD at the domestic box office.

Her work on Step Up led to her second successful director credit with the popular 2008 romantic comedy 27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden. This film received eight award nominations, including one People's Choice Award, two Teen Choice Awards, three Golden Trailer Awards, one Artios Award, and an EDA Special Mention Award. 27 Dresses is celebrated as an iconic 21st-century romantic comedy, largely attributed to Fletcher's direction. Jonathan Glickman, former president of MGM, highlighted Fletcher's crucial role in the film's success, noting her similarity to the main character. The film's writer, Aline Brosh McKenna, mentioned that Fletcher was known as "Mama" on set and credited her for effectively capturing the story.

Building on the success of her first two features, Fletcher went on to direct the highly popular 2009 romantic comedy The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. This film received twenty-seven nominations, winning seven of them. For her performance, Bullock earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress and a Women's Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress. The Proposal stands as Fletcher's highest-grossing film as a director and ranks as the 7th highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time.

Following the success of The Proposal, Fletcher directed The Guilt Trip (2012), featuring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. She then directed Hot Pursuit (2015), starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara. Both of these films performed significantly worse than her previous works. The Guilt Trip received one Razzie Award nomination, while Hot Pursuit earned a notably low 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In July 2014, Fletcher was announced as the director for Disenchanted, the sequel to the 2007 film Enchanted, which was set to star Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. However, in October 2016, she was replaced by her friend Adam Shankman.

In December 2018, Fletcher released Dumplin', her first film distributed exclusively on Netflix. Based on the book of the same name, the film stars Jennifer Aniston as a former beauty queen and explores themes related to body positivity and mother-daughter relationships.

Fletcher directed Hocus Pocus 2, the 2022 sequel to the 1993 film Hocus Pocus. Released exclusively on Disney+, the film features Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy reprising their roles as the Sanderson Sisters from the original. While critics had a polarized reception to the film, it received two Kids' Choice Award nominations, including Favorite Movie (though it lost to Sonic the Hedgehog 2). Fletcher is confirmed to reprise her role as director for the upcoming Hocus Pocus 3.

4.1. Director

'Film'

• Step Up (2006)
• 27 Dresses (2008)
• The Proposal (2009)
• The Guilt Trip (2012)
• Hot Pursuit (2015)
• Dumplin' (2018)
• Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
• Hocus Pocus 3 (TBA)

'Television'

• Heart of Life (TV movie, 2019)
• Step Up (1 episode, 2019)
• This Is Us (4 episodes, 2020-21)
• AJ and the Queen (1 episode, 2020)
• Love, Victor (1 episode, 2020)

4.2. Choreographer

• The Flintstones (1994)
• The Mask (1994)
• Tank Girl (1995)
• Casper (1995)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) TV series
• George of the Jungle (1997)
• Boogie Nights (1997)
• A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
• Anastasia (1997)
• Titanic (1997)
• Almost Heroes (1998)
• Blast from the Past (1999)
• She's All That (1999)
• The Out-of-Towners (1999)
• Dudley Do-Right (1999)
• Judging Amy (1999) TV series
• Bring It On (2000)
• Grosse Pointe (2000) TV series
• The Family Man (2000)
• The Wedding Planner (2001)
• Monkeybone (2001)
• The Trumpet of the Swan (2001)
• Six Feet Under (2001) TV series
• Maybe It's Me (2001) TV Series
• Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
• Orange County (2002)
• Showboy (2002)
• Like Mike (2002)
• The Master of Disguise (2002)
• Bringing Down the House (2003)
• Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003) (TV)
• Down with Love (2003)
• Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
• Along Came Polly (2004)
• Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004)
• Catwoman (2004)
• The Pacifier (2005)
• Ice Princess (2005)
• The Longest Yard (2005)
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
• Hairspray (2007)
• Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)

5.1. Critical and Commercial Successes

Fletcher's early directorial works saw considerable success. Step Up (2006), her directorial debut, was made on a budget of 12.00 M USD and grossed 114.20 M USD worldwide. While critical reception was mixed (21% on Rotten Tomatoes, 48 on Metacritic), audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.

Her 2008 romantic comedy 27 Dresses was a commercial hit, earning 162.70 M USD globally against a budget of 30.00 M USD. Critics were divided (41% on Rotten Tomatoes, 47 on Metacritic), but it received a "B+" CinemaScore from audiences and is considered an iconic film in its genre.

The Proposal (2009) stands as Fletcher's highest-grossing film as a director, with a worldwide box office of 317.40 M USD on a budget of 40.00 M USD. Critical reception was similar to her previous rom-coms (45% on Rotten Tomatoes, 48 on Metacritic), but its commercial performance was exceptional, making it the 7th highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time.

Dumplin' (2018), released on Netflix with a budget of 13.00 M USD, received strong critical acclaim, achieving an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 53.

5.2. Critical and Commercial Challenges

Following the success of The Proposal, Fletcher directed films that experienced more challenging receptions. The Guilt Trip (2012) had a budget of 40.00 M USD but only grossed 41.90 M USD. It received a low 37% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 50, also earning a Razzie Award nomination.

Hot Pursuit (2015) performed similarly, with a budget of 35.00 M USD and a box office of 51.40 M USD. This film was met with overwhelmingly negative critical reviews, receiving a mere 8% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 31, alongside a "C+" CinemaScore.

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022), with a budget of 40.00 M USD, received polarized reviews from critics (64% on Rotten Tomatoes, 56 on Metacritic). Despite the mixed critical reception, the film was nominated for two Kids' Choice Awards, including Favorite Movie.

The table below summarizes the critical and commercial reception of films directed by Anne Fletcher: