 KSL Movie Show Review:...
STEP UP 2 THE STREETS **1/2 by Steve Salles Standard Examiner movie critic GO: if you want to see some truly amazing dance moves. DON’T GO: if you were hoping an engaging story went with those same moves. “We call this a battle, but what are we fighting for?” Pretty deep stuff for a street dance movie where “crews” compete for superiority in creative, athletic, highly choreographed routines, but then occasionally have to stop and say goofy things like that. “That’s messed up, Dee!” - another memorable quote. So as long as they’re movin’ and not talkin’ - it’s not all bad. I don’t wanna be hatin’ here but these movies have a language all their own and through several scenes - subtitles would have been quite helpful. But I got the drift enough to know that Andie (Briana Evigan) is in big trouble. She’s so busy hanging around her crew (dance team) known as the “410” (the area code for Baltimore) that she’s blown off school and has step danced onto her guardian’s last nerve. You see, Andie lost her Mama to the big “C” and Mama’s best friend promised to look after the girl. But now, she’s threatening to send her away to the big “D” (Dallas) to live with her aunt. In steps Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum), hero of the first “Step Up,” to give her a pep talk and challenge her to not only get back into school, but to attend the same Maryland School of Arts that gave him his chance. And by the way, his brief drive-by will be the last you see of Mr. Tatum in this film. Andie reluctantly agrees, but has many hurdles left to climb to get into the MSA including more remarkable quips like “she’s just a street dancer” from the scouling school’s headmaster. But the Academy’s superstar, Chase Collins (Robert Hoffman) has already noted her gifts as he previously stated with a pithy remark of his own “people are hatin’ ‘cause you’re dope.” Translation: they don’t like you because you are talented. Soon however, the struggle to stay in school and still be part of the “410” causes friction with the group leader Tuck who basically says “you out.” So basically, they’ve taken the premise of the first film and flipped it. It’s now a GIRL struggling in search of her dream and instead of trying to leave “the streets” behind, she’s trying to embrace her “street” roots with the help of her new crew from the MSA - most notably a nerdy skinny kid named Moose as the comic relief, although an Asian girl gets the biggest laughs I guess because accents are funny. These MSA misfits are cute, but in this limited format none are allowed to really emerge. Let’s face it, the story takes a back seat to the dancing here anyway and to his credit new director Jon Chu does an excellent job of stepping back to let us see the big picture. He and his crew have captured some fascinating choreography here that can’t help but get you toe tapping. It’s these electric moments, especially the big dancing-in-the-rain finale, that make sitting through these silly set-ups bearable. And while as the deejay says “this ain’t high school musical” it is a fully realized expression of dance that’s hard to ignore. Now if only it could be accompanied with an equally realized script, they might really have something here.
Movie Showings Links:
|
 |
Movie Show Home Page
|
Steve