Film Reviews

Step Up

• Rating:
• Director: Anne Fletcher
• Starring: Channing Tatum
• Details: US / 98mins (PG).

Hoodlum Tyler Gage (Tatum) gets a chance to prove himself when he is handed a community service sentence after breaking into the Maryland School Of Arts and wrecking the theatre props. Forced to do his time in the school he wrecked, Tyler meets Nora (Dewan), a privileged ballet dancer, who is looking for a partner for her upcoming senior showcase. In steps the hip-hop dancer Tyler, who is shown a few moves by the talented Nora, and who in turn is taught a few things by the ruffian. How will it end? You already know as Step Up suffers the same fate as The Guardian - an amalgamation of movies you've seen ten times already. Step Up takes Dirty Dancing, Take The Lead, Save The Last Dance and a million other films and throws them all together in the hope that some sort of movie will come out of it. Some sort of movie did come out of it - a bad one. Although he can dance, Channing Tatum can't act - his face doesn't move when he's talking so it's hard to know if he's sad, happy, tired, hungry or wants to dance. His co-star is a little better as she has more to do, despite the fact that she's lumbered with a cliched character. There is no chemistry between the two leads as Tatum just isn't up to snuff and the dance routines won't have anyone shaking their booty in the aisles.

Review by Gavin Burke