Step Up 2 the Streets

Rating PG13 Formats Blu-Ray, DVD Genre musical Starring Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Will Kemp, Cassie Ventura, Adam G. Sevani Directed by Jon Chu Publisher Touchtone Pictures

Are you into hip hop dancing?  Are you into street dancing?  Are you into hip hop and street dancing with underdeveloped plotlines? Then Step Up 2 the Street is the movie for you!

Okay, maybe I’m sounding a little too harsh.  Honestly, it’s not that I hate dancing.  I enjoy television shows such as “Dancing With the Stars,” and “So, You Think You can Dance?” mainly because I find the dancing entertaining and enjoyable to watch.  So how can I sum up the plot to Step Up 2?  If you have seen Save the Last Dance and Center Stage, you’ve seen it all.  I’m not sure what it is with popular culture dancing movies today, but there is a very basic plot, an underdog dancer, an outcast, a struggle to compete, and a happy ending.

In Step Up 2, teenage Andie fills her desire for family and dancing in Baltimore’s finest dance crew, 410.  When her rebellion actions lead to a threat of being sent away to live in Texas, Andie’s friend comes up with a plan.  She will try out for the prestigious Maryland School of Arts for dancing.  Although she gets accepted and can stay in Baltimore, Andie finds it difficult to find time for school and 410.  To make matters worse, not only is Andie slipping away from her crew, but she is struggling with her school’s conservative and traditional ways.  She just does not seem to fit in anywhere.

Luckily the popular stud at MSA, Chase, shares the same affinity for innovative dancing as Andie does.  Together, they round up the most talented, creative dancers at the school to form their own street dancing crew.  Honestly, this movie is probably the best out of its genre of movies.  However, all of the different sub-plots seemed to fall short, and during the parts I actually enjoyed the plot was saturated with too much “cheesiness”.  There are some pretty amazing dance sequences, my favorite being the very last scene.  I probably wouldn’t recommend this movie to my friends and family, but Step Up 2 the Streets definitely fulfills its purpose towards its demographic.