Step Up (2006)

Only notable for the chemistry between its two leads... In terms of theme, "Dirty Dancing" or even "Save the Last Dance" is much better.Any attempt at dramatic tension makes itself known far too late to save the film, and just feels like a cheap afterthought, because it's an expected part of 'the formula'.How such laziness made enough money to spawn a franchise is beyond me.Boy am I glad that Channing graduated to working with Soderbergh, Tarantino and the Coens... because he looks uncomfortable with the false earnestness asked of him here - probably because it's so inauthentic.

The story of Step Up is simple and predictable. I just like one particular scene when the leading actor and actress dance over the harbor. Their dancing with the beautiful sunset and the sultry music, is truly impressive. If you like this movie, you may like Center Stage: Turn it Up too. There are resemblances between them. Overall, they are the kind of movies that are good to see when you're bored on a lazy day.

Channing Tatum pulls out all of the stops playing the world's oldest living high school senior and dance prodigy in Step Up. Tyler (Tatum)is the pretty white boy living in a rough,black Baltimore neighborhood. When he's not car jacking with his home boys, he is busy popping moves and busting bad ass dance routines on the b ball court. Then one night, after having a gun pulled on him at a party, Tyler and crew break in to the oddly located Maryland Academy of the Arts. The boys proceed to crap all over the drama departments Caligula set when they get busted by a rent a cop.Tyler takes the fall, letting his buddies make a run for it, he ends up in court facing serious court ordered community service at, you guessed it, the Maryland Academy of the Arts.We also learn that our boy Tyler has a lengthy police record and is the world's oldest foster child. Anyway, back at the school, Tyler is amazed when he arrives and sees all of these other kids pursuing their dreams and actually being productive members of society.Given the job as mop boy, he mumbles his way through the first few days of his service when, you guessed it, he sees the school's top female dancer and its love at first site.It's at this point you can turn off the movie and imagine the remaining time in your head. Boy and girl end up dance partners, montage, montage, montage, no one understands, they don't communicate, he learns to control his dancing while she becomes more of a free spirit. Her mom thinks Tyler is white trash. His foster parents could give a crap. His friends freak when they find out he is at school dancing in tights instead of carjacking with them, oh the humanity!There is also this second tier romance between a DJ from the school and star dancer's best friend, but I digress. In the end Tyler and star dancer pop and lock their way to winning the schools big talent showcase, he of course gets accepted into the school and star dancer gets her bring break with a dance troupe! This movie rips off everything from every dance movie ever made before it. Throw in some embarrassing fashions, dialogue and dance numbers and you have Body Rock, Breakin and Flashdance all rolled into one phoned in production.

I love this movie for numerous amounts of reasons. The dancing is amazing and the dancers they use are actually good. Usually, in dance movies, they either get actors that can't dance and have to have doubles (which is usually very obvious) or they just have the actors attempt to dance which is never good. Sometimes they get good dancers, but then they can't act. Step Up has dancers that can act and it really brings together the whole movie. One thing that I don't like however is the fact that Skinny has to die. They just had to pick the cute, innocent, little brother to die. Not only did he die, but he was shot on the streets. Shocking part of the movie that really killed the mood. I also wish that there weren't as many heart breaks in the plot line. Two couples broke up and the main couple were constantly fighting. One fight makes for a good story, but multiple gets to be a little much.I like to compare Step Up to Center Stage. They are both dance movies that involve romance between the lead female and male dancers. The girl in both movies go through a hardship and overcome it by the end and both of the males lose their girl at one point in the movies. There is lots of very good dancing in both and the actors do their own dancing as well.