Step Up (film)

Step Up
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Anne Fletcher Mico Heltborg
Produced by	Jennifer Gibgot Adam Shankman Patrick Wachsberger
Written by	Duane Adler Melissa Rosenberg
Starring	Channing Tatum Jenna Dewan Mario Drew Sidora Alyson Stoner Rachel Griffiths Josh Henderson
Music by	Aaron Zigman
Cinematography	Michael Seresin
Editing by	Nancy Richardson
Studio	Eketahuna LLC Summit Entertainment
Distributed by	Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s)	August 11, 2006
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12 million
Box office	$119,193,847[1]

Step Up is a 2006 American dance/romance film directed by Anne Fletcher starring Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan.^[2]

Set in Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows the tale of the disadvantaged Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) and the privileged modern dancer Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), who find themselves paired up in a showcase that determines both of their futures. Realizing that they only have one chance, they finally work together.

Two sequels followed: Step Up 2: The Streets (2008) and Step Up 3D (2010). A third sequel, Step Up 4Ever, is planned for a 2012 release.

Plot

Following a party, Mac (Damaine Radcliff) and Skinny Carter (De'Shawn Washington), and their friend Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum), break into the Maryland School of Arts and damage many of the props in the school's theatre. When a security guard appears, Tyler helps the other two escape and accepts the blame. He is sentenced to 200 hours of community service, which he has to serve at the school. While working, he watches a dance class and meets Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), a student preparing for her "senior showcase." The performance could determine if she gets a job with a dance company. Later, Nora secretly watches as Tyler mockingly shows his friends a mix of break-dance and the ballet moves he picked up. Nora's dance partner sprains his ankle, leaving Nora without a partner. After auditioning some students, she doesn't meet anyone who is good enough. Tyler offers to help, but she at first refuses. Eventually she changes her mind, having seen him dancing earlier, and convinces Director Gordon (Rachel Griffiths) to allow Tyler to rehearse with her. During their initial practice session, Tyler is antagonistic toward Nora as well as her boyfriend, Brett (Josh Henderson), both of whom respond with haughty attitudes. As they continue to rehearse, Nora and Tyler grow closer, each teaching the other about their respective styles of dance. Tyler also befriends a musician at the school named Miles (Mario), who has a crush on Nora's friend, Lucy (Drew Sidora).

One day, Nora takes Tyler to a special spot on the waterfront, which is where she envisioned her routine. She tells Tyler she always imagined it would be with a large group, and Tyler helps her dream come true by recruiting younger dancers from the school to perform in her number. Brett gets a recording deal with a company, but in doing so, dumps Miles to sign the deal. Nora then breaks up with Brett after seeing his poor treatment of their friend.

Tyler asks Director Gordon if she will let him attend the school, and her response is that he must prove to her that he deserves a chance. Upon hearing this, Nora says the showcase can be his audition. After dancing together at a club, Nora and Tyler begin a romantic relationship. However, when Nora's dance partner returns, seemingly healed from his injury, Tyler feels that he is no longer needed in the routine, and angrily accuses Nora of treating him the same way her ex-boyfriend treated Miles. He leaves the group and so he goes back to janitorial work at the school. However, in the course of the training Nora has been incorporating many of Tyler's suggestions for the choreography, and it is now too difficult for the original partner to perform. Nora is left without a partner, but though she is crushed, she changes the choreography into a dance without a partner.

Later on, Skinny is fatally shot after stealing a car, making Mac and Tyler realize that they need to make better choices in their lives. Later at the event, Tyler shows up and Nora is shocked to see him. Tyler tries to persuade Nora to let him in. She initially says no but then thankfully changes her mind and Tyler dances with her onstage (using their original choreography), impressing everybody.

When Director Gordon tells a Director from a Professional Dance company looking to sign Nora that Tyler is a transfer student, Nora becomes pleased, and at the last moment Tyler kisses Nora and the story ends..

Cast

• Channing Tatum as Tyler Gage, a skilled but troubled dancer and the protagonist
• Jenna Dewan as Nora Clark, an MSA ballet performer and the deuteragonist who falls in love with Tyler
• Mario as Miles Darby, a skilled DJ and one of Nora's friends
• Drew Sidora as Lucy Avila, Nora's best friend who has a semi-crush on Tyler
• Heavy D as Omar
• Alyson Stoner as Camille Gage, Tyler's adoptive sister
• Damaine Radcliff as Mac Carter, Tyler's best friend
• De'Shawn Washington III as Skinny Carter, Mac's younger brother who later gets killed in a drive-by shooting
• Josh Henderson as Brett Dolan, Nora's conceited boyfriend who later gets dumped by Nora
• Deirdre Lovejoy as Katherine Clark
• Rachel Griffiths as Director Gordan
• Ash Judge as Howie Feltersnatch
• Jamie Scott as Colin, Lucy's boyfriend who later cheats on her

Reception

The film met up with mostly mixed to negative reviews. As of August 22, 2006, the film had an average score of 48/100 on Metacritic, signifying "mixed or average reviews", its highest score was 75 (from both Entertainment Weekly and the Boston Globe), and its lowest was a 25 from the San Francisco Chronicle.^[3] It scored a "Rotten" 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus stating that "this trite teen romance has too little plot and not enough dancing."

Box office

However, despite many bad reviews from critics, Step Up earned a total of $21 million in its opening weekend, ranking second in the North American box office and exceeding the film's budget of $12 million. As of October 19, 2006, the day it closed, it had earned $65,328,121 in the United States and Canada.

Soundtrack

Main article: Step Up (soundtrack)

The soundtrack features music from Mario, Ciara, Kobi Peretz, Drew Sidora, Kelis, Chris Brown, Yung Joc, Blaire Reinhard, and Chamillionaire. J-pop singer Koda Kumi's 35th single But/Aishō was used as a theme song for the Japanese edition of the movie.

The lead singles from the soundtrack are Sean Paul & Keyshia Cole's "Give It Up To Me" Remix and Ciara single, "Get Up" featuring Chamillionaire. It was released August 8. Other tracks include Kelis' "80s Joint", Anthony Hamilton's "Dear Life", YoungBloodZ's "Imma Shine" and Petey Pablo's "Show Me The Money". The title track is performed by newcomer Samantha Jade and produced by Wyclef Jean.

Other songs

The following songs are featured in the film, but not included in the soundtrack:

1. "The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" - Black Sheep
2. "Get It" - T.I.
3. "Love Life" - Fatboy Slim feat. Macy Gray
4. "Toma" - Pitbull feat. Lil Jon

Sequels

The sequel, Step Up 2: The Streets, was released February 14, 2008. It stars Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, and Cassie and directed by Jon Chu. A second sequel called Step Up 3D was released on August 6, 2010. A third sequel called Step Up 4Ever is planned for a 2012 release and is confirmed to be a 3-D release like the third one.

References

1. ^ Step Up (2006). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
2. ^ Full cast and crew for 'Step Up' (2006). IMDb. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
3. ^ Step Up Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-10-29.

External links

• Step Up at the Internet Movie Database
• Step Up at AllRovi
• Step Up at Rotten Tomatoes
• Step Up at Metacritic
• Step Up at Box Office Mojo