Review of Step Up (2006) by Chads. — 26 Oct 2006

In "Flashdance", there's a reason to root for Alex(Jennifer Beals) to make it as a proper dancer. The working class girl is staring at a hard luck life of stripping and welding if she doesn't dance like a "maniac", and dance "like she's never danced before".

It's a miscalculation, I think, to profile the dreams of a rich girl. If Nora(Jenna Dewan) doesn't cut it as a hoofer: oh, boo-hoo, she has to go to Cornell(!), or Brown(!!). Director Gordon(Rachel Griffiths) tells Tyler(Channing Tatum) that her students sacrifice everything to achieve their dreams.

Instead of providing "Step Up" with scenes of Nora's single-minded determination to avoid the hardships of an Ivy League education, the filmmaker makes sure she's well-rounded(boyfriend, parties); when in real life, I'm sure prospective up-and-comers have no time for emotions.

Not satisfied with being "Fame" meets "Good Will Hunting", "Step Up" takes a time out from the main storyline to be "Boyz in the Hood", before returning to the inevitable finale of "Good Will Fame" and its inevitable results.

To be fair, this movie is about Tyler's attempt to escape the streets. But once he becomes Nora's dancing partner, a social hierarchy, perhaps unwittingly, takes over and her story takes precedence.

The rich steals "Step Up" away from the poor. Backstage, after their performance, the realization of this narrative power-play becomes all the more clearer, when Tyler's good news sounds like an afterthought to Nora's great news.