""Step Up" VIEW MY STERLING, 4 STAR REVIEW!!!!"
By Arlene R. Weiss © Copyright August 19, 2006
YOU probably know by now that WE absolutely LOVE & ADORE, "Step Up", the inspiring, moving, romantic, enchanting, dance flick starring real life canoodling couple, dancer/actor, Channing Tatum and dancer/actress, Jenna Dewan, along with a stellar ensemble cast including, Mario, Drew Sidora, Rachel Griffiths, and more!!!!
....WE want to say that WE saw "Step Up" Sunday, 8/13/2006, WE sat through it TWICE, (and THREE times AGAIN, Sunday, 8/20/2006!), and LOVED it's dance moves, grooves, tunes, 2 acting leads, (Jenna Dewan & Channing Tatum!), the ENTIRE cast!, and moving, TRIUMPHANT story of art, dance, following your dreams to forge a BETTER life filled with HOPE and possibilities, escaping the despair of poverty and a bleak, urban decay life.
....Since WE are a Baltimore, Maryland native, WE loved it taking place at the fictional, Maryland School Of The Arts, based on the REAL LIFE, Baltimore School For The Arts, and YES, we Noticed ALL of the On Location Baltimore scenery at Pier 6 Concert Pavilion, Fells Point, The Inner Harbor, even the infamous, landmark Domino Sugar Factory Bldg. Sign in the background!
....The story of Tyler Gage (Tatum), a foster teen with an incredible gift at hip hop, street dancing, nearly lost in the poverty stricken world that pulls him into a thug life with his 2 homey hoop buddies, Tyler gets caught vandalizing the Maryland School Of The Arts and receives court ordered janitorial community service there.
....Tyler is full of wonder at this magical building where dreams DO happen where he watches in amazement, students playing virtuoso violin and singing in the hall ways, and then his eyes fall on Nora (Dewan), in ballet dance class, moving like a graceful gazelle.
....Nora spies Tyler's electrifying dance moves on the parking lot, and after her own dance partner sprains his ankle, endangering Nora's chances to rehearse for and complete her Senior Dance Showcase (which could potentially secure her the opportunity to be offered a life altering and AFFIRMING job with a National Dance Company), she takes a chance on partnering with the move bustin' Tyler!
....The rest as they say, is history, and MAGIC! The pair rehearse, find themselves falling in love, run into some stumbling blocks caused by Tyler's fear of losing the ONE chance he has to make something of himself and aspire to something BETTER, and Nora's unsupportive Mother, who thinks college is more practical for her daughter than dance.
....Tyler also runs afoul of his own friends and thug life, and Nora's loyalties to Tyler are tested when her regular dance partner returns, ankle healed.
....But WE knew all along these two were meant to be together and that BOTH Tyler and Nora would do the RIGHT THING, especially after Tyler gets caught up in a tragedy involving his 2 best friends that guides his path like a beacon of light, in the right direction.
...."Step Up" is the Directorial Debut of long time movie, (and "Step Up's"!), choreographer, Anne Fletcher, who does her cast proud!!!!!
....The story was written and the script was co-written by Duane Adler, who penned, the also inspiring dance flick, 2001's "Save The Last Dance", (which we also LOVE!)!
....Fletcher and Adler wisely tell their dance and romance fairy tale with well drawn character driven and story development. (The unbreakable, sweet bond, relationship, and moments between Tyler and his Foster Sister and Brother are particularly heart felt, charming and feel totally true and unforced.)
....Though "Step Up's" story is basically a re-tread, that's a TRIFLE, as consider "Step Up", to be, "Save The Last Dance: 2"!!!!....
....Because it's a story worth re-telling and reinventing, timeless and so full of joy and inspiration, so dreamy and romantic, the cinematography so stunning, especially the scene where Tyler and Nora dance at sunset with Baltimore's Inner Harbor in the background, and the choreography so chemistry charged and dynamic, a DELICIOUS mash-up of hip-hop and ballet, seamlessly fused together, especially in the finale, that this film is a delight in every way!!!!
....Look out also for some fine acting from Baltimore, Maryland R&B singing sensation, Mario as the sensitive and determined Miles, a student at the school and aspiring music producer who helps lay down both some slammin' grooves and friendship to both Nora and Tyler!!!!....
....The electrifying actress, singer, dancer, Drew Sidora another student and friend of the group!!!!....
....A cameo by UK blue eyed soul singing sensation, Jamie Scott, who portrays Colin in the film, but tears up our leads and their friends at Pier Six Concert Pavilion which poses as a "nightclub" in the film, with his scorching "Memphis" style, horns backed rendition of "Made"!!!!
....We also want to point out that UNLIKE most dance flicks where the actors do NOT do their own dancing and have "dance doubles", BOTH Tatum and Dewan are 2 gifted Dancers and PROS who have quite a lengthy resume bustin' moves on tour for major recording artists and steppin' out in other movies!!!!
....Tatum is a marvel, using his huge football quarterback like frame to his advantage, forcefully moving as if he were jello on rocket fuel, and the lithe Dewan is equally a marvel, twirling and pirouetting with the striking grace of a swan!!!!....
....Both Tatum and Dewan tear up and reign supreme on the dance floor, throwing down some dazzling, eye popping acrobatics!!!! ....
....We have no idea if the NOW real life couple fell in love during or after the film was in production, but their sweet, tentative, love courtship "dance" into a relationship in the film, certainly comes off as real, as the couple's true life romance!!!!
....But what we remember about "Step Up", is that like, "Save The Last Dance", it shows that no person, no life, is hopeless, that dreams DO come true, that MUSIC, ART, and DANCE, can inspire and guide 2 people beyond their differences into one another's loving hearts & arms, and....
.....SIGNIFICANTLY, give them something BETTER to ASPIRE TO, to lead them out of even the darkest of misfortunes, tragedies, backgrounds, into a world and destiny of HOPE, filled with possibility and a FUTURE, or as Tyler so earnestly declares to Nora, something REAL, WORTH FIGHTING FOR!!!!....
....We give "Step Up" FOUR STARS and YES, in the 2006 Blockbuster Summer Movie Season, this little film that could, does, INDEED, "Step Up"!!!!
Muse News And Micro Muse August 19, 2006
By Arlene R. Weiss © Copyright August 19, 2006
No comments:
Post a Comment