Written by: Toni Ann Johnson & Karen Barna
Starring: Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Will Kemp, Cassie Ventura, Christopher Scott
Rating: [4/5]
No matter what population one observes, a line defining the haves and have-nots with respect to belongingness for individuals manifests. A place where for some reason they do not vibe with the majority presenting the chance to find their group something quite special. Something Step Up 2: The Streets utilizes to its advantage in bringing together this lovely group of characters. With plenty of dancing and fun moments, this feature takes the promise of the preceding film and elevates it across the board.
Involved with the infamous street dance group the 410, Andie (Briana Evigan) now sits at the last straw where she will be shipped out to Texas to live with her aunt. Given one more opportunity to attend the Maryland School of Arts, her new time commitment puts her at odds with her dance group as she begins to build friendships at the school.
Of the complaints, the first Step Up movie received, the lack of dancing became one of the more prominent. Well, this feature not only brought John M. Chu to direct it but decided to bring all of the dancing one could want making this such an enjoyable feature. One incorporating dance in both the performative but also in the way it defines these characters and the interactions they share with each other. At times these characters cannot express their emotions the way they necessarily want but when it comes to dance, all bets are off making for some fun sequences.
In this go-around, the film swaps the genders of the character types where on this occasion the female character represents the irreverent street dancer and the male stands in as the legacy Maryland School of Arts student who brings the other into the world. In this instance, we have Andie whose last chance to remain in Maryland lies with this school, and the opportunity presented to her causes this clash with her dance group. As displayed in the opening sequence of the film the 410 cause disruption in the ways they express themselves in dance getting Andie in trouble but they feel part of the community as a whole. For better or worse, Andie felt her connection with them there, which gets complicated when she misses practice because of her educational obligations. This raises the question of exactly how old each of these individuals are and what exactly they do for income if they’re not high school students like Andie. Her excommunication from the group leads her to build something at MSA making for quite the bonding experience bringing the ultimate charm of this feature.
Much of this begins with the introduction of Moose (Adam Sevani) and how he brings Andie into the world of this private school by giving her the lowdown. Then her interaction with Chase (Robert Hoffman), the popular guy at school, allows them to bring together individuals who feel out of place at the school to compete with the 410 at an exclusive dance competition referenced in the subtitle: “The Streets.” The opportunity to shine out in ways they could not before fitting into the rigid structure of what MSA sets out for them. They form a group of individuals with no community in order to succeed together but taking their talents to The Streets does present some bad optics of their infiltration of this event.
Taking place in Baltimore and viewing the population of individuals at The Streets demonstrates these individuals come from marginalized households that have found dance as an avenue for expression. This event arrives each year as the opportunity to come together as a community to show off their talents, which gets complicated when Andie and our allegiances lie with characters from a private school not part of this community wanting to compete. Yes, many of these students come to this school on scholarship and do not necessarily come from wealth, but they still attend this very nice art private school. Having Andie and Chase, the affluent one, try to inject themselves into a competition of individuals within a community they do not necessarily interact with much makes their plea to compete a bit difficult to watch. It also does not help both Andie and Chase are very white. You could easily see this story told from the perspective of the 401 group and how Andie and her crew come in as a bunch of gentrifiers. However, the point made here stems from The Streets having an openness where individuals from all backgrounds, even those in private schools can come express themselves through dance. It holds some water but sits on fairly unstable ground.
As with any dance movie, the main attraction comes from the dance sequences and this feature carries a plethora of them that have this electricity. From the moments of rehearsal and the final dance sequence, it shows some talented dancers were brought together to portray these characters. Even scenes like the barbeque the crew attends where they dance salsa allow for some character-building moments that bring plenty of fun to the narrative. The dance sequences work exquisitely well and show the potential of what dance movies can do in order to entertain audiences with sheer respect for what these individuals can do.
Very much having some optics problems, but quite the exquisitely fun movie Step Up 2:The Streets succeeds in building a roster of characters to truly care about. From Andie to Moose, they build such a fun group of individuals misplaced until they find each other. This gets coupled with some riveting dance sequences leaving your mouth agape at the talent on display and how anyone can possibly do what they accomplish physically. Most people can dance, but not as well as we see here adding to the entertainment and adoration of these individuals.
Films with Josh 
