Step Up 3D * (2010, Rick Malambri, Adam G Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner, Kathy Najimy) – Classic Movie Review 4638

Hey, guys, is this really the best you can do? Returning director Jon M Chu’s 2010 more or less totally unrelated Step Up second sequel, ‘based on characters’ from the 2006 and 2008 dance film hits, is SO bad. Just awful.

You really have to have some kind of story going on, even in a dance movie, but this one seems to have dispensed with one altogether. Some generic songs and a bit of over-edited dancing, however zesty, just aren’t enough to make a movie.

Rick Malambri (he’s already 28! – far too old) stars as Luke, who has a huge New York dance studio loft warehouse, inherited from his dancer parents, where he houses and rehearses his eccentric street crew.

Enter, stage left, Adam G Sevani (admittedly he was in Step Up 2: The Streets), an NYU freshman and talented dancer called Moose who is hanging around Camille Gage (Alyson Stoner (returning from Step Up and the star of Camp Rock).

Enter, stage right, Home and Away’s Sharni Vinson (she’s already 27! – far too old) as Natalie, who is hanging adoringly around the admittedly adorable-looking hero Malambri. It also features the welcome Kathy Najimy as Moose’s mom.

Obviously, (1) the crew are going to get kicked out of the warehouse for non-payment of rent, (2) there’s going to be trouble with an ex-boyfriend and (3) the crew are going to enter and win a dance contest. Just situations and no plot at all, then – told you so.

Rick Malambri in 2012.

We are not saying there isn’t talent here – just that it is badly used. No actors would do well with this tripey script and its rancid dialogue and cardboard characters. No wonder the audience was laughing at it. The 3-D is poor and even Step Up star Channing Tatum has giving up making any cameo.

As we said last time: if there are no new ideas and there is no better script, Give It Up!

Well it took an astounding $159.3 million worldwide on a cost of $30 million and of course they didn’t Give It Up, and Step Up 4 and Step Up 5 duly followed.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 4638

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