After seeing this underwear model turned actor in She’s The Man, I was surprised how well he could act. Channing Tatum conveyed real emotion as Duke and again as Tyler in his most recent film, Step Up.
Tyler is a rebel. He and his friend Mac, along with Mac’s younger brother Skinny, are all into a bad boy sort of scene. They steal cars for money and party hard.
During one of the parties, Tyler, who loves to dance, happens to be dancing with the wrong girl. Her boyfriend gets very jealous and threatens to hurt Tyler. They fight only for the boyfriend to pull a gun on Tyler and that’s when Mac steps in, convincing Tyler to leave. On their way home, the three of them (Skinny left as well) get into a joke fight, throwing cans and such across the street at each other. One of the cans breaks a window and Skinny, knowing the place to be a school, convinces Tyler and Mac to follow him in. Reluctantly, they agree to go get him but wind up impressed being in a “rich kid’s” school. They decide to have fun on the stage, but it leads to things being broken, and the noise, in turn, sends a security guard their way. Only Tyler, who lets Mac and Skinny escape, ends up being caught and is sentenced to do 200 hours of community service at the school.
Tyler ends up helping the janitor and is intrigued by the very artsy people who attend the Maryland School of the Arts. While cleaning, he catches the eyes of Lucy and her friend Nora during their dance class. The students are preparing for their senior showcase where they may be scouted. During his time cleaning, Tyler observes the dance class and notices that Nora’s dance partner, Andrew, sprains his ankle. Nora’s boyfriend, Brett, won’t help her rehearse as he’s too busy with his music. Auditions are held for Nora to find a stand in partner and unfortunately, no one can fill Andrew’s shoes, until Tyler offers his help.
The two work together really well, combining both their forms of dancing to help accomplish Nora’s dream. However, Tyler’s not spending enough time with Mac and Skinny and is torn between the dance and losing his friendships. When Andrew’s ankle heals, Tyler is out of the dance picture, so his question was answered for him.
Tyler’s back to his old business of stealing with Mac and Skinny. Andrew can’t learn the new dance that Nora and Tyler prepared and Nora has to figure out what to do. Tyler, though back with his buds, regrets that he isn’t Nora’s partner or that he can’t transfer to the art school.
It will take something major for Nora, Tyler and Mac, along with their friends whose problems develop along the way, to figure out what they really want to do.
The beginning of the movie shows an excellent contrast between two forms of dancing: Ballet and “edge,” both set to the same song. It’s amazing how both dances, though very different, both fit to the music played.
Basically, you’d think Step Up is a movie that’s all about dancing. Well you’d be wrong. Dancing has a major role in the movie, however, it’s the theme which makes the problems and helps with the solutions. It’s a movie about fighting for what you want and having a second chance to do what’s right.
Step Up is a must see movie (mainly for girls), with awesome tunes, amazing dance routines and fast paced action that keeps you glued to your seat and begging for more when it’s over.
After seeing this underwear model turned actor in