Written by: Susan Granger
SusanGranger.com

You could call this derivative teen dance drama “Flirty Dancing.”

Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is a hip-hop rebel from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s a bad boy/foster kid who is serving a stint of 200 hours of community service for vandalism at a Baltimore’s elite Maryland School of the Arts.

Refined, beautiful ballerina Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan) is a damsel-in-distress. When her usual partner/boyfriend injures his ankle, she needs a substitute for the end-of-term dance showcase which she’s choreographing. And there he is – Tyler, the new janitor, doing some break-dancing moves in the parking lot.

“I can’t believe there’s no one else,” says no-nonsense School Director Gordon (Rachel Griffiths) about the surly street performer, echoing my thoughts completely.

Nevertheless, they spark the right moves, on the floor and off, helped by killer choreography and a pulsating soundtrack with Ciara, Yung Joc, Chris Brown, Youngloodz and Sean Paul, among others. Bearing a remarkable resemblance to Paula Abdul, Jenna Dewan may be familiar from some Janet Jackson music videos – and, unlike “Flashdance,” she and Channing Tatum perform their own routines. (A key to knowing is actually to see them dancing together - none of that close-up on her/her face, close-up on her/his feet, dim lighting so that she/he is barely recognizable.)

Screenwriters Duane Adler and Melissa Rosenberg, along with choreographer-turned-director Anne Fletcher (“Bring It On”), owe a great deal to “Footloose,” “Fame,” “Save the Last Dance,” “Staying Alive,” even “Take the Lead.” Helping to mask the mediocre acting, uneven pacing, melodramatic plot turns and utter predictability are gifted R&B superstar Mario and Drew Sidora as fellow students.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Step Up is a formulaic 5, filled with flashy, toe-tapping interludes.