Step Up

Rating: 4/10 (14 December 2010)

Following on from Save the Last Dance and a few other dance movies before, this recognisable title was the next one I tried, from choreographer turned director Anne Fletcher (27 Dresses, The Proposal). Basically Tyler Gage (She's the Man's Channing Tatum) lives with his foster parents in the lower class African American neighbourhood of Baltimore, he is is a talented street dancer but also a troublemaker with his friends Mac Carter (Damaine Radcliff) and his little brother Skinny Carter (De'Shawn Washington). Having fun partying and stealing cars, they one night break into Maryland School of Arts committing vandalism on the stage with all the props and equipment, and Tyler is the one caught and sentenced to 200 hours community service. Under the watch of Director Gordon (Rachel Griffiths) he is assigned to work as a janitor in the school cleaning floors and windows, and picking up the litter. He has been lightly distracted in his work seeing the dance classes, and particularly the talent of beautiful ballet student Nora Clark (Take the Lead's Jenna Dewan), who is already seeing someone. She oversees him doing his street dancing outside, and when her original partner Andrew (Tim Lacatena) has a strain, Tyler offers to take his place and follow her choreography. As the practising continues Tyler not only suggests new street dance style moves into the routine that will be judged, but he and Nora are getting very close. Tyler has been known to start things and give up after just a short time, and of course this is what happens when for almost no reason at all he stops practising with Nora, leaving her alone. She does try and get him back, and there is a small vice versa situation, it is after the Boyz n the Hood style shooting and death of Skinny Carter that Tyler has to decide to help Nora with her judged performance and maybe get a place in the dance school himself. In the end the final performance with Tyler and Nora goes brilliantly, they both gain high praise and interest from the judges and school heads, and obviously they are happy together. Also starring singer Mario as Miles Darby, Drew Sidora as Lucy Avila, Heavy D as Omar and Josh Henderson as Brett Dolan. Tatum and Dewan make a good couple, but to be honest the only highlight are all the well choreographed street dance sequences, not a bad romantic dance drama. Okay!