Step Up, or So You Think You Can Act?

Dance movies are not too dissimilar from martial arts films or fast car flicks. Often, the dazzle of the visual is obtained by sacrificing quality acting, interesting dialogue, non-formulaic narratives, or any number of other characteristics of a truly engrossing film. Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan have contorted their bodies in some amazing ways, but no director would consider casting either in place of John C. Reilly or Tom Wilkinson. The Fast and the Furious franchise provides some rather jaw-dropping car racing scenes, but, somehow, the Academy hasn’t carved out an Oscar for any of the trilogy yet. Step Up, the latest dance movie, really is no different.

While it’s true that Channing Tatum (Tyler) and Jenna Dewan (Nora) probably won’t be crafting any acceptance speeches outside the MTV and Teen Choice circles any time soon, it’s equally true that I’m glad neither John C. Reilly nor Anne Hathaway was cast for either of these roles. (And I love—almost unhealthily—John C. Reilly) A poor script with sub-par acting is one thing when the movie is supposed to be about narrative and dialogue (think Gigli), but, when the movie is about fantastical fighting or cars or dancing, script and acting can suffer for the sake of the visual.

Of course, it’s not a given that stunning visuals (and I’m focused here on human-performed visuals, not computerized graphics, which is a whole ‘nother post) and less-than-spectacular acting go hand-in-hand. The original Fast and the Furious featured Vin Diesel, who has proved (elsewhere) that he can act. And Save the Last Dance features Julia Stiles, who is a quite good actress. Step Up, on the acting front, does best not to get in the way of the dancing and, for the most part, succeeds in this goal (though Tatum’s ‘ghetto' accent is difficult to stomach on occasion). I'm no dance expert (regretfully), but, from what I can see, the dancing is spectacular. And the music that accompanies it is good, too, combining hip-hop beats with string accompaniments in most cases—a clash of 'classical' and 'contemporary' that serves as a theme for the entire movie.

As for narrative arc, Step Up makes an honest effort to subvert or at least delay a few generic expectations in its plot. Though the narrative deals mostly in tension-release tactics, there will be an extra ‘success sequence’ here, or a delayed reconciliation there. In general, if you enjoy watching dancing, if you are, say, obsessed with So You Think You Can Dance, then Step Up is definitely a must-rent, I’d say. And, if you’re adventurous or bored on a rainy afternoon or just a lover of popcorn with butter-like substance on top, check it in the theaters. If, though, you’re the kind of person who sees three or four movies a year in-theater, I wouldn’t recommend allowing this one to make the cut.