Step Up 2: The Streets





Directed By: Jon Chu

Starring: Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Will Kemp, and Cassie

Bad movies making money breed more bad movies.  When I heard of Step Up 2: The Streets, I was less than enthused to say the least.  After all, Step Up was nothing more than a mediocre flick.  What good could come of another one of these pointless dance movies?  After having revisited Step Up 2, I've been reminded that I was right.  On the one positive note, the dancing in Step Up 2 is better than what you'll find in the original.

Andie (Briana Evigan) is a lost teen.  After losing her mother to cancer at the age of 16, she now lives with her mom's best friend Sarah (Sonja Sohn).  She's doing terribly at school, and the only thing that matters to her is dancing.  A member of the 410 dance crew, Andie just wants to be a street dancer.  When she gets into some criminal activity with 410 and Sarah finds out, Sarah tells Andie to pack up because she's going to go live with her aunt in Texas.

It just so happens that Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is in town, and he runs into Andie at a Baltimore club.  Aware of her situation, he encourages her to audition for a place at the Maryland School for the Arts (MSA).  Naturally, Andie is reluctant, so he battles her.  If he wins the battle, she will audition to enter MSA.  If she wins, she will leave everything behind and move to Texas with her aunt.  When Tyler wins the battle, he works his magic and convinces Sarah to let Andie stay with her if she auditions and enrolls in MSA.  Andie then auditions and fails to impress Director Blake Collins (Will Kemp).  However, his younger brother Chase (Robert Hoffman) convinces him to offer her a place at MSA.

As Andie gets acclimated to MSA, her studies take her away from her friends in 410.    The crew's leader Tuck (Black Thomas) discovers this and kicks her out of the group.  Chase, who has long had an interest in street dancing, convinces Andie to start an MSA crew with him, her friend Moose (Adam G. Sevani), and several other talented students around MSA.  With the upcoming competition for crews known as The Streets, the MSA dancers hope to make a name for themselves.  The 410 dancers have no intention of letting some kids from the art school take their title however.

Step Up 2: The Streets is a truly horrible movie.  I need a shot just thinking about how poorly written and executed this film is.  Step Up 2 lacks a worthwhile story.  It's incredibly predictable.  You can call everything the actors will say seconds before they actually say it on camera.  To make matters worse, the screenplay is rife with cheesy, empty dialogue, and the plot feels forced.  Things happen throughout the movie just so that it has a nice, neat happy ending.  For example, Moose remains at the MSA fundraiser, while the rest of the MSA crew goes to The Streets for the competition.  Though he's annoying as hell, this kid loves to dance.  There's no reason for him to stay at the fundraiser other than being there to give Director Collins directions to The Streets. 

The actors deliver bad performances.  Briana Evigan is notably bad.  The two worst, however, are Will Kemp and Cassie.  Will Kemp's Director Collins is the blandest, most worthless character.  Kemp gives one of the laziest performances through which I've ever had to suffer.  He gives his character no flavor whatsoever.  He seriously needs to step up his game.  Cassie's Sophie Donovan is just as bad.  As Chase's ex-girlfriend, the only thing she does is give a grumpy facial expression.  Every time she's on camera, Cassie looks like a kid that's about to start pouting.  If you ever need a grumpy young woman, Cassie's your girl.

Step Up 2: The Streets is one of the worst films I've had the displeasure of watching.  When I'm happy to see Channing Tatum, you know we've got a problem.  Obviously, the movie is getting a wasted rating.  The real mystery is what to drink.  If you've got a front row seat to watch this crap, you're going to need something strong.  After some deliberation, I'm going to have to recommend that you go for some flatliner shots.  If you dare watch Step Up 2, get ready to break out the vodka and sambuca.