Step Up

Step Up

Directed by Anne Fletcher

Written by Duane Adler and Melissa Rosenberg

Touchstone

Last week's surprise hit, preliminary #1 before the actual grosses came out, arrived to my theatre a week later and therefore, I had to watch it. Step Up is one of those movies that really makes me wonder if anyone can make good ones anymore.

The story concerns Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum), a white boy who rolls with the homeys and has wicked moves and a predilection for screwing up because he's a foster child. But boy is he dreamy! After getting caught destroying school property at the prestigious Maryland School of the Arts, he is sent to 200 hours community service at said school, where the terribly hot Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan, who was also the ghetto hottie from Take the Lead) does ballet and is preparing for a big performance. Of course, her partner injures himself, and the freshmen and sophomores are a bunch of wuss girls, and all seems lost until Tyler offers his help. Let the romance begin!

The rich girl/poor boy romance pisses off Nora's asshole singer wannabe boyfriend Brett (Josh Henderson), and does the same for Tyler's hetero lifemate in crime Mac Carter (Damaine Radcliff), and there are many bullshit misunderstandings which lead the ill-fated romance to go off-and-on. There are some really patchwork subplots built into this, one leading to an ultra-ridiculous segue into Boyz 'N the Hood territory.

And all this movie ever needed to be was dance-heavy and it would have all been fine. Instead, it's a flick in need of a full-frontal assault of editing. Characters who were jerks the whole movie take some unbelievable turn for the better towards the end, not to mention Tyler himself, who is about as unlikable as characters get until halfway through when he starts falling in love. Isn't that sweet? As is, there are two moments in the movie that are fun to watch, and it involves no talking, no stupid subplots, just moving and grooving. And if we could have had that, plus a tacked-on "exotic dance" scene with Tyler and Nora to ramp up some much needed heat, I would have recommended the hell out of this flick. As is, very dumb...so very dumb.