- Step Up Revolution. Directed by Scott Speer. Starring Emily McCormick and Ryan Guzman.
Rating: 5 (out of 10)
SO You Think You Can Act? The fourth instalment of the wildly successful Step Up movies features some killer dance moves, a hot Miami Beach locale, and acting that most definitely does not make the cut.
Let's not blame leads Ryan Guzman - already being touted as the next Channing Tatum - and Kathryn McCormick, a SYTYCD alum. They're just twirling their way through a bare-bones plot and executing some downright off-key dialogue, courtesy of Duane Adler and Jenny Mayer, both of whom should be tied to a chair and set in front of ginormous, pulsing speakers as punishment.
There's a whole lotta booty-shaking going on, and the type of dirty dancing that could get you evicted from many a high school dance. And that's the draw, after all: a threadbare plot spun from audience demand for the type of dance moves seen on TV's So You Think You Can Dance, less so on Dancing With The Stars, and occasionally (frighteningly) glimpsed from pint-sized dancers on Dance Moms.
Sean (Guzman) is co-leader of "the Mob", an underground dance troupe with an eye toward winning an Internet contest with a $100,000 payday, their ticket to eventual fame and fortune. Sean meets Emily (McCormick) at the beach club where he works. They dance a hot number in the sand but then, like a sexed-up Cinderella, she is gone.
Sean is from the cheapo side of the tracks but Emily's daddy (Peter Gallagher) owns the whole block. Emily has dreams of joining a prestigious Miami dance troupe but daddy has given her until the end of the summer to make it as a professional dancer, or else come to work for his development company. No pressure. She joins The Mob to give her pretty-but-staid dance style some muchneeded edge, and to rebel against daddy, of course. "It's a 50/50 chance we're going to jail tonight," Sean says, as their flash mob shuts down various Miami institutions. The sirens, conveniently, are always a few beats behind
Their directive changes when Emily's dad threatens to flatten their historic neighbourhood, including a Cuban club that's a safe haven for the kids. "Enough with performance art- it's time for protest art," says Emily.
The dance sequences are a vibrant mix of styles, parlour and performance art, with the openers and the finale providing the best visual fun. Any attempt at dialogue is drowned out by a heavy-handed score.
Buzz for the film got a big boost after the entire cast performed on the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, and earlier, on So You Think You Can Dance. Parents take note: the dancing is hot, the kissing is chaste, and the 3D is unnecessary, so save the extra few bucks for snacks. Or dance lessons.
