Step Up (**1/4)

? A rebellious white kid (Channing Tatum) at a black high school in Baltimore is forced into doing community service at a performing arts school. There, he shows off his hip-hop moves to an aspiring professional dancer played by Jenna Dewan, who also appeared in Take the Lead, another recent dance movie. R&B star Mario plays Tatum’s best friend.

+ Um, ex-model Tatum sure is handsome. There’s some decent soft hip hop on the soundtrack. The most interesting song, a blend of rap and orchestration that serves as the big showcase number, seems to be missing from the soundtrack album, though.

- Read the description and you know the story. Save the Last Dance is a more convincing movie covering the same ground. For a dance movie, the performances are too infrequent, and the romance generates little heat. The female characters, including Dewan’s, are all pretty trite. A couple of supporting characters have sudden transformations that aren’t that believable.

= **1/4 Although Step Up won’t win any awards, it might be worth seeking out if you enjoy the genre, as it at least doesn’t insult your intelligence.

IMDb link