Stepped up....then put back on the shelf

Introduction-

Recently me and the Mrs went around to our friends house for the evening, after eating a delicious meal we settled down to watch a film. Strangely enough I liked the film 'Save the last dance' and 'Step Up' is allegedly of a similar storyline, so we decided to go with it. The film was released in 2006 and was directed by Anne Fletcher. The lead actor in the film is Channing Tatum, and the lead actress a relatively unknown lady named Jenna Dewan. I have to say I was looking forward to the film and it delivered...to an extent.

Plot -

The story follows a young man named Tyler Gage (Tatum), he is what some people would call a bit of a troublemaker, him and his friends go around the neighbourhood stealing cars, breaking into places and generally causing havoc. Hi close friends are Mac Carter (Damaine Radcliff) and his younger brother Skinny Carter (De'Shawn Washington III). One evening they break into an arts school and begin to cause havoc on one of the drama sets, completely ruining everything. Unfortunately they get caught by security, Tyler fights the guard off of his friends which lets them escape, leaving him to take the brunt of the charges. He is sentenced to community service which he must undertake at the college.

Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan) is a student at the college and is preparing a routine for her final performance, which will decide the rest of her dancing career. Her dance partner ends up hurting his leg during practise and can no longer take part; therefore Nora must find a replacement. After trialling all of the senior and junior students she realises that none of them can manage to complete her performance. Gage who has been watching her whilst undergoing his community service realises he can help, he himself is a great street dancer, but somehow he must convert that to the more delicate ballet she has choreographed. As you can imagine she doesn't initially like the idea, he is a scruffy trouble maker in her eyes and will hear none of it, not until she sees him dance anyway.

The pair soon become partners and begin practising the routines, mixing both the street and ballet to create a unique dancing style. At the same time Nora begins to fall for Tyler, at the disgust of Nora's current boyfriend Brett Dolan (Josh Henderson). Unfortunately their relationship begins to cause conflict both for them and those around them. Will the two end up together? Will the routine be a success? You will just have to watch to find out.

My Opinions -

There was a lot of criticism about the film, it was said that there was very little connection between Gage and Clark which I will definitely agree with. I however do not put the blame on Dewan, I think her performance was very well acted, I think Tatum on the other hand was nowhere near at his best. His role is as a troubled youth who has very little interest in his career or anyone else bar his family and close friends, this side he plays fairly well, although his 'not bothered' attitude got a bit boring. As soon as he came in contact with Nora though he started acting like he was embarrassed to be there, as though he was better than the film and wasn't putting much effort into it. I'm sure this wasn't the case but that's the way it felt.

I understand that Nora and Tyler are from totally different backgrounds and therefore have very little in common, but even when Tyler was trying to win Nora over he never seemed to get excited or enthusiastic, it always felt a bit slow. Jenna did however play it very well, her presence was always felt throughout and was a compliment to the Director, a great choice of casting.

My favourite actor however was De'shawn as Skinny Carter, he is a young guy out to impress both his older brother and Gage, and does whatever he can to get their respect. His lines are brilliant and the faces he pulls are great, I always found myself in stitches when he was on screen, in one scene he is sitting with the lads being a 'Cool dude', then his mum comes into the shot and goes out the house and he shouts 'Bye mummy', brilliant acting and script writing.

The storyline was actually good, I think the film would have been much better if there was a different lead actor, saying that Channing does a great job with the dancing, he is clearly naturally rhythmic. His dancing is actually believable, although not quite up to the standard set by Jenna. Behind the main storyline there are a few others, Mario the singer has a medium sized role as Miles Darby, an up and coming DJ who is trying to get his name out there. Mario actually does a great job, he definitely succeeded with the transition from singer to actor where many have failed.

The music in the film features music by various artists such as Mario himself, Ciara, Kelis, Chamillionaire and Drew Sidora. The main song however is 'Give it up to me' by Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole. I felt all the music was fitting to the film storyline and wasnt too 'gangster' to put me off, in some ways it kept the film entertaining. The film was fairly fast paced and kept me fairly engrossed, I didn't ever find myself thinking 'This is boring'. Although the film is fundamentally a love story it isn't pushed in your face, there is a strong dancing and youth influence which relates well to the modern teenager and afterwards makes you think, I wish I could dance like that. I'm sure the film made a lot of younger children feel the same and perhaps introduced them to the trend which should help them get off the streets. Strangely enough the sequel to the film is called 'Step up 2 the streets' released earlier this year (2008).

Verdict -

Overall the film was watch able, although I won't watch it again for another year at least, Channing's acting wasn't terrible, he just didn't seem comfortable playing a guy in love. The film has a running time of 98 minutes so you won't get a numb bum watching it, and the time does soon pass. I would advise teenagers and those interested in dancing to watch the film, I'm not sure adults will appreciate it as much, although the love story might please a few ladies, or gents...The film can be purchased from any DVD store or online at Play or Amazon for around £4.

Rent - No
Buy - No
Borrow - Yes