STEP UP 2 THE STREETS

HEADLINE: ** Great Dancing with a Little Story on the Side **
TITLE: STEP UP 2 THE STREETS
Quality: * * * Acceptability: -1
SUBTITLES: None
WARNING CODES:
Language: LL
Violence: V
Sex: S
Nudity: N

RATING: PG-13
RELEASE: February 14, 2008
TIME: 99 minutes
STARRING: Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Cassie Ventura, Black Thomas, and Will Kemp
DIRECTOR: Jon Chu
PRODUCERS: Erik Geig, Jennifer Gibgot, Adam Shankman, and Patrick Wachsberger
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Anne Fletcher, Bob Hayward, Meredith Milton, and David Nicksay
WRITERS: Toni Ann Johnson and Karen Barna
DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Pictures/The Walt Disney Company
BASED ON THE CHARACTERS CREATED BY: Duane Adler

CONTENT: (RoRo, B, C, PC, E, LL, V, S, N, A, D, MM,) Strong Romantic worldview that deals with human emotion, love and the idealism of acceptance that deals with the present world as well as following one's heart, yet with a moral tone dealing with family, love and self-sacrifice and one positive reference to God, plus one quick politically correct environmentalist element as guy wears T-shirt about global warming; 11 obscenities and eight light profanities; violence includes one sequence where three guys threaten, push, punch and kick one guy to warn him to stay away from a dance competition; light sexual content includes some unmarried kissing, some lightly sensual dancing with nothing graphic and some suggestive lyrics heard lightly in the background hip hop music; nudity includes naturalistic upper male nudity and young women seen in sports-top and dance clothes that reveal their midriffs and some cleavage; some alcohol seen in the background of a dance club; drug content includes woman takes some prescription pills; and, miscellaneous immorality includes lying, pranks being played on people, pranksters running from the police, girl tries to run away from home but goes back and two instances of vandalism of both private and public property.

GENRE: Musical Drama
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Teenagers and adults

Please address your comments to:

Robert Iger, President/CEO
The Walt Disney Company
(Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax Films)
Dick Cook, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
Phone: (818) 560-1000
Website: www.disney.com

SUMMARY: In STEP UP 2 THE STREETS, an orphaned teenage girl finds love and acceptance at an art school and in an underground hip-hop dance competition. Despite some shallow aspects and off-color moments requiring caution, STEP UP 2 THE STREETS has some thrilling dance sequences and positive moral elements that successfully entertain and inspire the viewer.

IN BRIEF:

In STEP UP 2 THE STREETS, Andie, an orphaned teenage girl, is consigned to the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA) because she started to get involved with some hip-hop vandals. Andie finds herself struggling with the structure and rigidity of the school and instructors. Lost and alone, Andie meets Chase, the premiere dancer at MSA. She discovers that he too, along with other students, love hip-hop dance and long to start their own crew. Andie joins them to get ready to dance at "the streets," a competition pitting the best hip-hop crews in Baltimore against each other. While preparing for the competition, Andie finds acceptance as well as a new family of friends.

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS is a hip-hop spectacle showcasing the dance skills of its cast and choreographers. The dance sequences are thrilling and engaging, but sometimes drawn out. Despite some predictable moments, shallow acting and flat characters, the movie entertains the viewer. There is some foul language and somewhat suggestive dancing and costuming. These things are kept to a minimum, however. There is a theme about following personal dreams, but the movie extols family, love and self-sacrifice.