Review of:Step Up (2006)
Director:Anne Fletcher
Rating:PG-13 for thematic elements, brief violence and innuendo.
Starring:Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Rachel Griffiths, Mario , Drew Sidora
If there was ever a film that I could call the 8mile of dance movies it would have to be the film Step Up. From the gritty scenes of the life Step Up portrays to the scorching hot dance steps found in almost every frame, this is a film that will have you rocking from beginning to end.
The star of the film is Channing Tatum (a dead on look alike for WWE’s John Cena) starring as Tyler Gage, a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore. He’s a white guy that is going nowhere fast, and the guys that he hangs around are doing no better. He has one talent that is glaringly obvious we are to believe and that is the fact that he can dance. Let me say that again, the MAN CAN DANCE. That was probably one of the biggest surprises of the film is that he could really get down. This fact is noticed by Nora (Jenna Dewan), who is a student at the school he has to do community hours at.
The relationship between the two young people is formulaic in a Romeo and Juliet sort of way, and while this relationship format might falter in other films, these two make you believe that they could really be feeling each other on the level we are supposed to believe they are. Maybe it was the dance scene on top of the building or the chemistry that just builds from beginning to end, but it works.
Of course, the road for Tyler is filled with bumpy rides that make his rise from poverty to greatness a hardship. He has to face the rejection of his friends as he tries to make his way into a new life, as well as the daily struggles of life.
This film which was directed, choreographed, and starred in by Anne Fletcher) is one that I would highly recommend for the simple fact that it goes against the norm. It keeps you enthralled from beginning to end, and the dancing is smoking off the charts.
