Step Up

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan star in Step Up.

Herald rating: * *

This romantic dancing flick is aimed at teenagers who, if they had been born when it was released in 1980, would be Fame fans.

Step Up, a collection of dancing and singing routines interspersed with some wooden acting and earnest dialogue, is a formulaic and safe mix of hip-hop and ballet - much as Take the Lead did recently with hip-hop and ballroom dancing.

Tyler (Tatum) is a sullen young teen who lives in a rough Baltimore neighbourhood with his foster parents. He doesn't dare hope for anything in life as he more than likely won't get it, so he spends his days hanging out and stealing cars, playing basketball, and going to parties where he can get down and do what he loves to do - hip-hop dancing. Oh yes, that white man can dance.

When he gets caught trashing the elite Maryland School of the Arts he's sentenced to community service as a janitor at the school, where he meets the privileged and perfectly formed dancer Nora (Dewan).

Nora's hopes of impressing some talent scouts are dashed when her partner sprains his ankle. Tyler offers to step in ... and you can guess the rest.

Visually, the dance scenes are standard fare but they should have younger audience members racing home to practise in front of the mirror, and cause more mature viewers to reminisce about the good old days of Footloose and Flashdance.

Cast: Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, Rachel Griffiths
Director: Anne Fletcher
Running Time: 103 mins
Rating: PG (low level violence)
Screening: Village, Hoyts and Berkeley
Verdict: Formulaic and safe teen dance movie