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Ryan Guzman and Kathryn McCormick star in “Step Up Revolution.”
Name this plot: The gang all hangs out near the beach and has a way of spontaneously breaking out into dance. A pretty girl is new in town. She’s an outsider until the leader of the beach crowd befriends her. Life’s a holiday until an evil real estate developer comes along and wants to destroy the Eden on the beach by erecting a huge development. The kids decide to protest in order to preserve their beloved turf. And the snaky developer turns out, inevitably, to be the new girl’s daddy.
I’m pushing the buzzer and shouting “Beach Party!” “Frankie and Annette!” But I’m dating myself. “Step Up Revolution” is the fourth of the new “Step Up” movies, a series of unconnected stories that serve as showcases for the kinds of young stars who sincerely hope they’ll soon be in better movies. This fourth one stars Kathryn McCormick, from “So You Think You Can Dance.” You get the idea.
McCormick plays Emily, whom we meet soon after she turns up in Miami Beach. She dreams of being a dancer and soon falls into the orbit of the Mob. No, not that one. This one is an awesomely well-organized, rehearsed, choreographed and disciplined flash mob that materializes around town and constantly mystifies the anchors on TV news, who report on its manifestations as if every appearance is a complete surprise. The Mob leader, Sean, is played by a first-time actor named Ryan Guzman. Like everyone in the film, Sean is good-looking, gifted and apparently self-supporting since he’s available 24/7 to turn up anywhere and dance.
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‘Step Up Revolution’ RATED: PG-13 (for some suggestive dancing and language) WHEN: Opens today WHERE: 2-D and 3-D Century 14 Downtown, Century Rio 24, Cottonwood, Four Hills, Premiere (Rio Rancho), Starlight (Los Lunas) |
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Perhaps the Mob oversteps the boundaries of your average flash mob, to be sure; members even do a choreographed routine while dancing on the hoods and roofs of cars that are (luckily) stopped in traffic. And they have an uncanny way of materializing at public events involving the mayor and the evil real estate developer (Peter Gallagher) and interrupting their speeches with high-octane production numbers. Even though their M.O. is well-established, the Miami Beach police seem singularly clueless.
Ask yourself this question: What does the typical audience look like at a public speech by a real estate developer? As you fix that image in your mind, ask yourself if the cops would notice a large number of “So You Think You Can Dance” types, casually skulking about and acting as if they’re not about to burst into dance.
Never mind. There’s another crucial element to the story. It depends on all of the members of the Mob being immortal and stuck in a moment of time. They are staging their protests because the development would go up right where they like to hang out. Bwaa-bwaa! There’s even the colorful restaurant run by a kindly old guy who is usually called Pop in these stories, although I missed his name this time.
