“Step Up 2 The Streets” (Touchstone)
When the Dancing Starts the Movie Starts
In 2006 a little movie titled “Step Up” came out of nowhere and found an audience. It also introduced Channing Tatum to the world and propelled his career forward. Now there is a sequel of sorts titled “Step Up 2 The Streets.” It too should find an audience not because of the performers but because of the dancing in the film. When the dancing starts the movie comes alive, and when the dancing stops the movie dies.
Sadly a movie like this one has to have a plot to occupy time between dance numbers. This time out the writers borrowed from the first film and also “Fame” and maybe a little of “Flashdance.” A girl named Andie (Briana Evigan) is an orphan. She lives with her mother’s best friend Sarah (Sonja Sohn) and is a bit rebellious. She is a member of a “dance crew” named “The 410” which goes around the city causing disturbances with their dancing.
Sarah has finally had it and plans to ship Andie off to Texas to live with her aunt. Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is a friend of Sarah’s and begs her to let Andie audition for the Maryland School of the Arts, which is where he went in the original film. Andie passes the audition and starts attending classes there.
Chase Collins (Robert Hoffman) is the brother of the Director of the school and also a student. He prefers street dancing to ballet and so he thinks of Andie as a kindred spirit. Together the two of them form their own “crew” and plan to challenge the 410 to a dance off. And you all know how that is going to end.
Both Evigan and Hoffman are pretty bland actors but when they dance they shine. They have some pretty athletic moves as they perform dances that look like Michael Jackson originals. But there is also a salsa dance in which Andie wears a dress that is beautiful in its execution.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
This is a movie to see for the dance numbers, Oh there is some comedy and some romance but these parts are not outstanding. The dancing is. And yes it does seem that Michael Jackson was ahead of his time. Go back and look at his early videos and you will see numbers just like these. The leans, the arm waving, the staccato moves, the crotch grabbing – it is all there.
The plot and the acting pull the movie down but the musical numbers lift it up allowing the film to be good entertainment if not great.
I scored “Step Up 2 The Streets” a concrete 5 out of 10.
