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Overarching hip-hop flows through the film, from Yung Joc to Sean Paul, Keyshia Coles to Kelis, as the film draws on the street tough in the real world motif. Channing Tatum takes a turn on the dance floor as Tyler Gage, bad boy-turned-dance partner. Jenna Dewan’s Nora Clark turns in the average performance as the rich girl ballerina who falls for the new thing. He’s at Maryland’s School of the Arts to do community service, but she doesn’t care, she needs a dance partner for the school’s Senior Showcase. Bent on scorning Cornell and her mother’s meddling dreams (she’s brilliant and a dancer!), Nora’s uptight personality needs a fresh, street breath of air.

The movie itself is a cliché-dropping, movie-mash-up of its predecessors, scooping The Cutting Edge, almost anything starring John Cusack, Save the Last Dance, Coach Carter, and more. Still, it provides its necessary life lessons and more than a few humorous moments. Mac (Damaine Radcliffe) and Skinny (De’Shawne Washington) are Tyler’s boys from the hood, yucking it up, causing trouble and stealing cars. The younger Skinny provides one of the funnier scenes midway through when he tries to steal a car that both of his older running mates know has an alarm.

Still, funny will only get you so far, and this is no Talladega Nights. These young guns can dance, and a few can act, but the liberating moments are the sweetest part. Check out Miles (Mario), backup DJ and sometime mix artist, as he finally steps up to the mike and leads the party. As he finds his voice in the party, he also finds his soul and his assertiveness. Stepping up comes to more than just the stage.

Tatum will be familiar to some for his roles in sportscentric films like the comedy She’s the Man and drama Coach Carter.  Here, he does less acting than dancing, but he exhibits a kid-friendly persona that reflects his character development. In one scene, the football player-turned model-turned backup dancer artfully busts a move in the backyard with kid sister Camille, patiently showing her that she can dance, to trust in herself. Later on, having survived the angry glares of a young ballerina, Tyler teaches others how to dance in an organized way, as a team.

That’s the sense of purpose that drives Step Up (which I have also accidentally called “Step It Up,” “Step On It,” and worse.) Here, you can only defer your dreams and your destiny so long before trouble catches up with you. Sometimes, you have to fight for second chances, and sometimes it pays off. It’s not easy, it’s not fun, and sometimes it doesn’t work. But you have to reach up, get up, step up, to make that progress and better yourself. And somehow, it’s about bettering the lives of others that really makes a difference.

So, to all those other ‘teamers’ out there, step up. Check it out, laugh along, and cheer a little. And when you get home, stick Coach Carter in the DVD player and see how it’s really done.

Me? I’m going to go listen to the soundtrack.