Synopsis

An aspiring medical student whose sister has recently died and who may be forced to relocate from a private school to the neighbourhood in which she was raised enters a step-dancing competition in hopes of securing the funds needed to continue her education. Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private-school education, ambitious teen Raya (Rutina Wesley) returns to her family home in the city while reluctantly forced to re-evaluate her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is $50,000, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop’s (Dwain Murphy) predominately male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked-off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop’s trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch.

Reshoot and Release

This Canadian film was original slated to open in Canada in March 2007, but when it picked up a distribution deal from Paramount and MTV at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the release date was pushed back to allow for reshooting several of the dance sequences, particularly the finale. The film was shot on Super 16mm for $5 million, and Paramount invested another $2 million in the new sequences, re-editing, and new sound mix. They created a new soundtrack with American and Canadian hip-hop artists. The film was originally set and filmed in Toronto, Canada, but the new edit removes references of the team traveling from Toronto to Detroit for the dance competition. Paramount/MTV spent another $10 million in promotion and distribution to 1500 theatres in the United States and 50 in Canada.

Soundtrack

1. G-Slide (Tour Bus) – Lil Mama feat. Kadar
2. Out Here – Mayhem Morearty
3. My Boots – Montell Jordan
4. Perfect – Carl Henry
5. Jane & Finchin’ – Smugglaz
6. It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me (acoustic version) feat. Akil Dasan – Kevin Michael
7. Hot Hot Hot – Montell Jordan
8. Reflectionz – Fenom
9. Ms. Golly – Lenn Hammond
10. Rude Girl Remix – Montell Jordan
11. Monster – Saukrates
12. Work That Stick – Montell Jordan
13. Still Burnin’ – Fenom
14. Don’t Let It Slip Away – Mood Ruff
15. Tempo – K Smith

Cast

• Rutina Wesley     Reyanne
• Dwain Murphy     Bishop
• Clé Bennett     Garvey
• Romina D’Ugo     Selia
• Kevin Duhaney     E.C.
• Shawn Desman     Trey
• Brennan Gademans     Quake
• Tré Armstrong     Michelle
• Jason Harrow     Himself

Plot

Step Up 2 the Streets is set in Baltimore, Maryland. It follows Andie West (Briana Evigan) as she pursues her big dream of becoming a street dancer. Her mother died of cancer when Andie was 16; she now lives with her mother’s best friend, Sarah (her guardian), but in reality, Andie feels like she does not belong anywhere. Although she is doing badly at school, it is her passion for dancing that brings something good into her life. She rehearses regularly with her dance crew, the “410″ (pronounced four-one-oh), to keep the title of the illegal competition (although dancing isn’t illegal), ‘The Streets’. Sarah is tired of the crime and harassment by the 410 and tells Andie she will have to go to live with her aunt in Texas if she doesn’t turn her life around.

Box-Office reception

The film opened at #2 and earned $18,908,826 in its opening weekend. As of August 4, 2008 Step Up 2 the Streets have grossed $58,017,783 in domestic box office and $86,027,415 in other parts of the world, bringing a wordwide total of $144,045,198. Critics, though, have reviewed the movie to the point where it only received 24% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and on the website it says, “There’s a kinetic appeal to the handsome cast and their smooth moves, but everything else about Step Up 2 the Streets is been there, danced that.”

Trivia

• To prepare for the role of Chase Collins, Robert Hoffman actually went into the Baltimore city underground dance scene and participated in competitive break dance circles.
• During the final dance, in the part where all the guys are dancing, Smiles, one of the crew (two dancers away from Chase), is wearing a white jacket in one shot, and a black sleeveless shirt in the next. The continuity error repeats twice afterwards.
• Another male dancer (Cable) takes off his red jacket during the beginning of the final dance, but is seen wearing it in some shots, and not in others. There are also continuity errors with another male dancer (Hair) during the final dance; he is shown with a jacket on in some shots, and without it on in others.
• After Chase gets the black eye, he talks to Andie when she gets expelled. He does not have the black eye during that scene, but when he goes to talk to Blake, the bruise returns, although it appears to have healed a little.
• In the final scene when Sophie leans in and kisses Moose his cap is worn frontwards but at the end of the kiss his cap is seen to be worn backwards.
• After Andie’s phone is vibrating and she’s sleeping, Tuck is heard playing Killzone 2 a Playstation 3 exclusive video game which isn’t due for release until February 2009.
• After the subway prank, on the rooftop Missy was pulling the scarf she was wearing, and when Tuck got there she was having it on, and on the next shot she wasn’t wearing it.
• The dance scene in the club was filmed in the building of the Former Hammerjacks, now Bourbon Street in Baltimore.

Cast

• Briana Evigan as Andie West
• Robert Hoffman as Chase Collins
• Adam G. Sevani as Robert “Moose” Alexander III
• Will Kemp as Blake Collins
• Cassie Ventura as Sophie Donovan
• Danielle Polanco as Missy Serrano
• Sonja Sohn as Sarah
• Black Thomas as Tuck
• Telisha Shaw as Felicia
• Channing Tatum as Tyler Gage

Plot

After a run-in with local thugs, aspiring Bronx rapper Rob (Omarion) flees to Puerto Rico and a Puerto Rican father (Giancarlo Esposito) he never knew, and finds his salvation in Reggaeton, a spicy blend of hip-hop, reggae and Latin beats. Puerto Rico, the spiritual home of Reggaeton, inspires Rob and his half-brother Javi (Victor Rasuk) to pursue their dream of becoming Reggaeton stars. Together with a dancer named C.C., they learn what it means to stay true to themselves and each other, while overcoming obstacles in love, greed and pride, all culminating in an explosive performance at New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Critical reception

As of October 17, 2007 on Metacritic, the film had an average score of 36 out of 100, based on 9 reviews.

At the box-office, since its release it has grossed more than $5,000,000.

Cast

• Omarion Grandberry as Rob
• Giancarlo Esposito as Roberto
• Victor Rasuk as Javi
• Melonie Diaz as Mimi
• Zulay Henao as Carol “CC” Reyes
• James McCaffrey as Jeffrey Skyler
• Meredith Ostrom as Noelia
• Rosa Arredondo as Marivi
• Pras as Electric
• Charles Duckworth as Nodde

The film stars Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Darrin Henson, Nadia Feseha, Brian White, Laz Alonso, and Valerie Pettiford, with Harry Lennix and, in their film debuts, R&B singers Ne-Yo and Chris Brown. Stomp the Yard was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia on the campuses of Morris Brown College, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, and in the MAK Historic District of Decatur, Georgia.

Reception

The general consensus was that while the film’s dance and stepping sequences were found to be impressive, its plot was seen as melodramatic and clichéd. Regardless of the critical reviews, however, the film opened at number-one with a first-weekend gross of $22 million, becoming the first film in three weekends to beat out Night at the Museum at the box office. Stomp the Yard, produced on a budget of $13 million, eventually went on to gross $61 million in the United States and $75 million worldwide.

Stomp the Yard received poor reviews from critics. On the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, 27% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 86 reviews.

Sony Pictures held a national high school stepping competition in conjunction with the release of the film. The winning team was from North Stafford High School in the suburb of Stafford, Virginia.

Alpha Phi Alpha boycott threat

A boycott of the film was threatened by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and supported by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, due to a conflict between the organizations and Stomp the Yard producers Will Packer and Rob Hardy (both members of Alpha Phi Alpha) over the unauthorized use of some of Alpha Phi Alpha’s trademarks in the film. The groups ended their threat when Sony Pictures and Screen Gems agreed to the removal of all references, in the film, to the Fraternity. Sony and Screen Gems made a decision for a donation to the The Washington D. C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, a project of Alpha Phi Alpha. The offending scenes of Alpha Phi Alpha steppers which were deleted from the final release print appear in both versions of the Stomp the Yard movie trailer.

Soundtrack album

1. “Go Hard or Go Home” – E-40 featuring The Federation
2. “Vans” – The Pack
3. “Poppin’” – Chris Brown
4. “Sign Me Up” – Ne-Yo
5. “The Champ” – Ghostface Killah
6. “Walk It Out” – DJ Unk
7. “Pop, Lock, and Drop It” – Huey
8. “The Deepest Hood” – Al Kapone
9. “Come On” – Bonecrusher featuring Onslaught
10. “Supermixx’s Black In The Building” – Public Enemy
11. “Storm” – Cut Chemist featuring Mr. Lif & Edan
12. “In the Music” – The Roots featuring Malik B & Porn
13. “Ain’t Nothing Wrong with That” – Robert Randolph & The Family Band
14. “Bounce Wit Me” – R.E.D. 44
15. “This Woman’s Work” – Maxwell

Cast

• Columbus Short – DJ Williams
• Meagan Good – April
• Ne-Yo – Rich Brown
• Darrin Henson – Grant
• Harry J. Lennix – Uncle Nathan
• Valarie Pettiford – Aunt Jackie
• Brian J. White – Sylvester
• Laz Alonso – Zeke
• Jermaine Williams – Noel
• Chris Brown- Duron Williams

The film follows the tale of the disadvantaged Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) and the privileged modern dancer Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), who find themselves paired up in a showcase that determines both of their futures. Realizing that they only have one chance, they finally work together.

A sequel to the film, titled Step Up 2 the Streets, was released on February 14, 2008.

Sequels

The sequel, Step Up 2 the Streets, was released February 14, 2008.It was produced by Gianni Oconnor at Elite pictures. It stars Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman and Cassie and directed by Jon M. Chu. The sequel was a huge hit, ended up grossing $57 million, a little short of its predecessor. Tyler makes a small appearance near the beginning of the sequel, convincing Sarah to allow Andie to attend MSA.

One week after the release of Step Up 2, due to a $20+ million opening take, Disney announced productions plans for Step Up 3-D to be released in 2010. Jon M. Chu will reprise as director of the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features music from Mario, Ciara, Drew Sidora, Kelis, Chris Brown, Yung Joc, Blaire Reinhard, and Chamillionaire. The lead singles from the soundtrack are Sean Paul & Keyshia Cole’s “Give It Up To Me” Remix and Ciara single, “Get Up” featuring Chamillionaire. It was released August 8. Other tracks include Kelis’ “80s Joint”, Anthony Hamilton’s “Dear Life”, Youngbloodz’s “Imma Shine” and Petey Pablo’s “Show Me That Money”. The title track is performed by newcomer Samantha Jade and produced by Wyclef Jean.

Box office and reaction

As of August 22, 2006, the film had an average score of 48 out of 100 on Metacritic, signifying “mixed or average reviews”; its highest score was 75 (from both Entertainment Weekly and the Boston Globe), and its lowest was a 25 from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Las Vegas Weekly’s Josh Bell gave Step Up one and a half stars, calling the dancing “bland” and saying that “Tatum and Dewan have no chemistry while dancing or making out (not to mention whenever they’re unfortunate enough to have to speak).”

However, despite many bad reviews from critics, Step Up earned a total of $21 million in its opening weekend, ranking second in the North American box office and exceeding the film’s budget of $12 million. As of October 19, 2006, the day it closed, it had earned $65,328,121 in the United States and Canada.

Worldwide, the movie grossed $114,191,952.

The DVD for Step Up was released on December 19, 2006.

Cast

• Channing Tatum as Tyler Gage
• Jenna Dewan as Nora Clark
• Mario as Miles Darby
• Drew Sidora as Lucy Avila
• Heavy D as Omar
• Damaine Radcliff as Mac Carter
• De’Shawn Washington III as Skinny Carter
• Josh Henderson as Brett Dolan
• Deirdre Lovejoy as Katherine Clark
• Alyson Stoner as Camille Gage
• Rachel Griffiths as Director Gordan

Title

There has been some attempt to break the titular expression into the mainstream. The expression “you got served” has been used to describe someone or something that has either lost badly or been humiliated (or possibly both).

Soundtrack

You Got Served Soundtrack features mainly music by B2K, but also Marques Houston, and many others. There were some profanities in the soundtrack such as “Streets Is Callin’” but did not receive a PA label. The soundtrack was released on December 23, 2003. Also, there was a release of a music video for B2K’s single “Badaboom” featuring Fabolous and Marques Houston was the guest appearance. The music video contains B2K and Fabolous in a female club while showing the “You Got Served” movie shots.

Several Music found in the film is not listed on the soundtrack, these include: Joe Budden’s (Feat. Big Mike) – Pump It Up (Final Battle), Timbaland & Magoo (Feat. Fat Man Scoop) – Now Drop, Jahalla (Feat. Kia Starr) – What You Don’t Know – Nas – Heaven

Development

The original screen play was called ‘DANCE’. The second rewrite changed the title included the word “Bitch”, as in “you got served, bitch” but this was eventually dropped.

Tryouts of dance crews around Los Angeles were held and the winners were featured in the film. Several dancers were discovered by the choreographer and producers during trips to several competitions around Los Angeles.

B2K still performed songs for the movie in what was said to be their final performance together, although breaking up prior to the film’s release.

Reception

You Got Served opened at the #1 spot, knocking The Butterfly Effect out of that spot. It had generally poor reviews, earning a 17% approval rating rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While many critics enjoyed the dance sequences, they found the rest of the movie to be rather generic.

The movie is also credited with launching the current surge in dance films such as Step Up and How She Move in film and television.

Cast

• Marques Houston – Elgin
• Omari Grandberry – David
• Jarell Houston – Rico
• De’Mario Thornton – Vick
• Dreux Pierre Frederic – Rashann
• Jennifer Freeman – Liyah
• Meagan Good – Beautifull
• Steve Harvey – Mr. Rad
• Christopher Jones – Wade
• Robert Hoffman – Max
• Malcolm David Kelley – Lil’ Saint
• Wade Robson – Himself
• Lil’ Kim – Herself
• Alani Vasquez – Herself
• Michael Taliferro – Emerald

Plot

Honey wants to be a big time dancer, but she’s having trouble making it to the top. But finally she’s spotted by big-time producer Noora Golabi, who offers her a job. Honey willingly accepts, and gets started straight away. She’s a big hit and even gets a promotion, but soon her boss tries to make sexual advances on her, which Honey declines and loses her job. Meanwhile the community center, where Honey works voluntarily as a hip-hop dance teacher, is falling apart. Soon Honey is forced to find a new dance studio and finds herself in a financial snag because of her previous job loss. She decides to put on a big dance performance to raise money for a studio. It’s a hit and Honey opens up her own studio.

Critical response

Honey was released to poor reviews. On Yahoo! Movies Critical Response, the average professional critical rating was a C. Rotten Tomatoes rated the film as being “rotten”, with only 16% of 105 reviews having favorable responses.

The film grossed $27 million at the US box office, and was released on DVD and VHS on March 23, 2004.

Trivia

• The club scenes in the film were filmed at The Guvernment club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Honey’s first job with Mike Ellis as a dancer showed a clip of the Silvercup Studios.
• Aaliyah was the director’s first choice for the lead role however the role was given to Alba due to Aaliyah’s death.^{[citation needed]}
• Romeo and Zachary Williams did not only both star in this movie together but Zachary also played Romeo’s little brother again in his own tv show, Romeo!, which they co-starred together as brothers.
• Shawn Desman’s song “Sexy” is featured in the movie but is not on the soundtrack.

Soundtrack

1. “Hurt Sumthin” – Missy Elliott
2. “I’m Good” – Blaque
3. “Gimme the Light – Sean Paul
4. “React” – Eric Sermon ft. Redman
5. “Leave Her Alone – Nate Dogg featuring Roc-a-Fella Crew
6. “Ooh Wee” – Mark Ronson featuring Ghostface Killah and Saigon
7. “It’s A Party” Tamia
8. “Thugman” – Tweet
9. “Now Ride” – Fabolous
10. “J-A-D-A” – Jadakiss and Sheek
11. “Think Of You” – Amerie
12. “Closer” – Goapele
13. “I Believe” – Yolanda Adams