Movie Review: Step Up

I have grown very tired of these movies in recent years. What movies am I referring to, you may ask? All of these teeny-bopper 16-year old girls acting like adults and dancing their way into the arms of a love they can’t have. Dirty Dancing was one of the only enjoyable films of this type, almost solely due to the fact it was the most original. And unfortunately for me, the lack of originality has been flowing more and more copiously in recent years, with releases like Save the Last Dance, Take the Lead, Drive Me Crazy, Honey – the list goes on and on.

And why does Hollywood continue spewing out these haphazardly crafted regurgitations? Because the teenage girls of America, the MTV generation, just eat them up. I can’t blame them for making these flicks, but that doesn’t mean they are making quality films.

So I guess the most I could have expected out of a film like this summer’s Step Up is a little bit of humor, maybe a decent soundtrack, and a story that is – to say the least – predictable. And that is almost exactly what I got. But I had fun watching this movie, because I got the opportunity to play a little game I like to call, “Follow the bouncing Cliché.” Let me explain…

We will start with the boy, played by Channing Tatum, who is from the wrong side of the tracks. His irreverence for authority and his reckless behavior can only lead to one thing – trouble with the law. Almost on cue, he and his two friends break into an art school and create all kinds of damage (that can easily be worked off with community service, coincidentally). And go figure, he is the only one who gets caught.

Sentenced to work at the school, he reluctantly takes to the work with the aforementioned irreverence. Before long he spies a girl – played by relative newcomer and supreme hottie Jenna Dewan. The girl is a senior working on her dance routine that will “make or break the rest of her life as a dancer” when her dance partner goes down with a sprained ankle. What is a girl to do but take a liking to the bad boy in the janitorial uniform with some hidden dance skills? And as if it were meant to be, a love story is born.

The rest of the film can be easily predicted as the couple’s affection grows then comes under scrutiny, causing their bond to be tested on multiple occasions. But you know the rest – and I am no plot spoiler – so I will just move on to tell you what I thought of the film. Even though it is a very familiar tale, the film was surprisingly entertaining. As expected, the soundtrack was very upbeat and it fit very well into some vibrant dance scenes. The dancing was also pretty exceptional, with the two leads displaying great aptitude in some precisely choreographed routines.

Article Author: Neil Miller

Neil Miller is a 23-year-old film critic who lives and works in Columbus, Ohio. He is a member of the Central Ohio Film Critics Association. His musings about the world of film (and other various topics) are on display at his blog, The Columbus Movie Guy. …

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