Same old dance moves

Rating: 5/10 (20 September 2006)

You really can't fault "Step Up" with at least having its heart in the right place even if its trite dramatic elements overbear it as a whole. Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is serving a 200-hour community service for the Maryland School of Arts after getting caught trashing some of the school's props during a late-night vandalism. Soon, in a twist of events, he finds himself teamed up with Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), a ballet dancer in her senior year, for the school's showcase wherein lie their futures.
Directed by choreographer Anne Fletcher and written by Duane Adler and Melissa Rosenberg, "Step Up" is weaved to the formula of cookie-cutter dance movies that's a dime a dozen nowadays. Overstuffed with too many plot lines and directed without much fluidity, the film doesn't break new grounds or usher anything that hasn't been shown in, say, "Take the Lead." The actors can only do so much but they can't step up from a movie full of stock characters and typical subplots. Troubled guy who's capable of doing something great. Girl unbelievably dating a guy who doesn't deserve her. Black Americans who sulk at social prejudice. Mother who "wants the best" for her child but can't see that what her child does is what's the best for her.
The chemistry between Tatum and Dewan is as active as that of a helium with a neon. Tatum is so stoic in mumbling his lines. As for Dewan, while she is no high-caliber actress, she has a rather effervescent presence that translate prettily on the celluloid.
Perhaps what would have made "Step Up" a much more compelling film was if it paid more attention to the area it's tackling and making it more innovative. There's nary a persuasive composition (or at least none that I can remember) as most of the choreography consists of body shakes, lifts, turns and pirouettes. A standing ovation has never felt more conspicuously staged.
As it is, "Step Up" ends up as just another familiar piece that stocks on its shallow characters, their clichéd episodes, and the diaphanous ending Hollywood constantly obligates.