STEP UP 2 THE STREETS

Briana Evigan just wants to fit in at her snooty private school, but getting involved in an underground dancing competition may get her expelled. Coming from a lower-class background, Andie (Briana Evigan) tries desperately to fit in at the elite Maryland School of the Arts. While there, she hooks up with a flashy dancer named Chase (Robert Hoffman) who gets her involved in a down-and-dirty dancing competition that may get her kicked out of school.

Cast Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Will Kemp, Cassie Ventura, Adam G. Sevani, Telisha Shaw
Director(s) Jon M. Chu
Writer(s) Toni Ann Johnson, Karen Barna
Status In theaters (wide)
Genre(s) Drama
Release Date Feb. 14, 2008
Running Time 98 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13 - for language, some suggestive material and brief violence.


REVIEW
Who's in It: Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Danielle Polanco, Will Kemp

The Basics: Dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing. This is done in front of parents who just don't understand, teachers who just don't understand, rival dancers who just don't understand — and in the rain. That there's not "Hot Lunch Jam" taking place during the cafeteria scenes is sort of a shocking omission.

What's the Deal? This genre has a problem that plagues it. And that problem is almost always this: too much yappy-yap yapping about the tired plot. Oh, you're a dancer, and you have to strive to prove that you're gifted? Big deal. Shut up and do it. That's what was wrong with the terrible original Step Up. Well, someone must have decided that it was time for the story to get out of the way of the dancing, because this astonishingly fun movie is a perfect example of how style sometimes is substance. Think words are boring and dumb? Like dancing instead? Then you're going to have a great time.

Seriously, Here's How Every Scene Plays Out:

Example 1:
Guy: Hey, what's up?
Girl: Not much. Let's do some crazy dancing.
Crazy dancing begins.

Example 2:
Teacher: You will now stop all this crazy dancing and learn ballet.
Girl: Whatever.
Crazy dancing begins.

Fun Facts About the Cast: The uptight dance-academy director is that guy (Kemp) who suddenly became a big sex symbol when he danced in that Gap commercial a few years ago. The lead girl (Evigan) is the daughter of '70s BJ and the Bear (you know, the one about the trucker and his monkey sidekick) star Greg Evigan. And Hoffman, who's like Channing Tatum 2.0, has danced in all kinds of crappy movies like Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, You Got Served, Gigli and From Justin to Kelly.

Don't Be Late and Here's Why: The opening scene of people dancing on the subway is flabbergasting. So much insane, borderline-violent choreography goes down in the first three minutes that it's frightening, like someone made a horror movie with beats.