Step Up: All In Is A Trash Movie Except For This One Dance Move That Redeems The Whole Thing

by Jaya Saxena · March 29, 2016

I have a lot of opinions about the Step Up series. Step Up introduced us to hunky man-puppy Channing Tatum and angel in grey sweatpants Jenna Dewan, so it can be forgiven for not being 90% dancing/10% plot like you want those movies to be. Step Up 2: The Streets was probably the most enjoyable in terms of overall dance scenes but the main guy in it was a total drip and they made it all about like, rap-rock. Step Up 3D focused on Moose and was basically formatted like a video game, with each dance scene being themed with a different boss, and that’s beautiful. Step Up Revolution wanted me to be angry at Sandy Cohen and I just can’t do that. But Step Up: All In is just all around nonsense, except for this one move where a girl looks like she’s speed skating on top of a bunch of men.

DID YOU SEE THAT?? DID YOU SEE WHEN SHE STOOD ON THEM TO MAKE THEM DANCE AND THEY DID?

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This entire dance number is over seven minutes long and is steampunk themed and yet is entirely redeemed by this four seconds. Please direct me to lessons to forms of dance where standing on men is acceptable.

Jaya Saxena is a Staff Writer at The Toast.


52 Comments

  1. tabbylavalamp +127

    Cover them in ShamWows and I may have just found a way to get myself interested in cleaning the floor.

    1. leslieellenjones +19

      I think the guy backstage in the quasi-Egyptian costume is already wearing a Sham-Wow over his abs.

  2. emmysuhweeks +17

    OK BUT ALSO — in the boxing ring dance-off (it’s maybe semi-finals) — they do some AWESOME tricks in general — but Our Team does this incredible, uniform, foot work and turn combo that is SO AWESOME, and rhythmical and clean and crisp.

    If I weren’t at work, I’d search for the video, but it’s towards the end when they’re dancing to “Run” by Gnarls Barkley, I think.

  5. helvetica547 +16

    I still watch the finale dance number from the first Step Up like every other week because it was so beautiful. Step Up 2 had meeh characters, I didn’t see the 3D version and I only suffered through the fourth one because Kathryn McCormick is beautiful and was my favourite on SYTYCD but oh god, was it bad.

    1. GruntledDave +7

      Have you seen the Channing Tatum/Jenna Dewan episode of Lip Sync Battle? We watch it all the time because it is so amazing

  6. mkpatter +31

    Is this the appropriate place to complain about how Canadian Netflix ONLY has the first three Step Up movies and that’s it? I NEED MORE STEP UP YOU SONS OF BITCHES.

    1. Es_Petal +18

      UK netflix has none of them, and I had never heard of them and now I neeeeeeed to watch the first one for the charming tater.

    3. theharpoon +9

      I waited for years for ANY Step Up movie to be available on U.S. Netflix or Amazon Prime and they NEVER WERE and finally I broke down and acquired the first two elsewise when I was sick one time. So that’s my story.

  7. PtacluspIIb +29

    Dance movies are my weakness. Doesn’ matter if it’s StepUp Bollywood or the old Astaire/Rogers stuff they repeat at christmas. Also if you like this franchise the Street Dance films are worth checking out as the attempt at a London/European version. 2nd one stars Sofia Boutella

    1. ms_whatwhat +4

      whaaat?! how did I not know about this? *instantly adding Street Dance films on “to-watch-list”*

  8. Becca +87

    I now have a new criterion for evaluating potential dance classes. “Pardon me, but are there men on whom I can stand? No? I shall LOOK ELSEWHERE, THEN.”

    P.S. I was in Paris when the third movie was released, and there it was entitled, simply, “Sexy Dance 3.”

    1. PaleoGould +5

      Sexy Dance 3 is now a meme to the Husband and I because of a trip to Paris that summer.

    1. KK +11

      AND THE HEART THUMPING MOVE?? That did it for me. I don’t know why? But it wasxsooooo gooooooood

      1. Lilybellevedere +2

        The heart thumping move, yessssss! Also everyone being so generous with their headlights.

  10. Chance_Hale +22

    I will never not hear the name of this movie in my head as [strongbadvoice]Step All Up Ons.[/strongbadvoice]

    ESPECIALLY now that I know it contains this sequence.

  11. heyingridhei +19

    Step Up 2 is ABSOLUTELY the best one but the love interest is terrible. In my headcanon Andi drops him the second the movie ends and gets together with the angry pseudo-British brother instead. They have actual chemistry! He’s very controlled and she’s anti-authority! They are perfect together!

  12. Diana_monkey +18

    I’ve long suspected the Step Up Franchise only exists to give jobs to ex-SYTYCD contestants and choreographers. *shudder* NappyTabs *shudder*

      1. walrathem +10

        That too. English doesn’t have a great way of saying that. Like Burlesque, the Christina Aguilera vehicle with a Cher sidecar (except that Cher plays second fiddle to nobody) which was blissful from start to telegraphed finish. A movie about scantily-clad dancing women and the only nudity was male. So perfect.

        2. Mingus_Thurber +4

          “Burlesque” is right up there, for me, with “Spice World” as one of the pinnacles of Western filmmaking. I remember thinking, “Okay, now is the point at which Cher is going to sit on a stool (or was it backwards on a chair?) and sing a torch song about overcoming obstacles” and BY GOD IT HAPPENED AND I GOT CHILLS. I love that movie so, so much.

  14. PtacluspIIb +1

    Erm off topic but is anyone else having issues with IntenseDebate? It is working fine on my phone (chrome) but on my laptop (also chrome) I keep getting either errors or the page refreshing without posting. The toast is whitelisted for all my blockers so i dont think thats it….

  15. Siege +10

    I feel like I maybe saw this move awhile ago on America’s Best Dance Crew (a show I loved and miss very much).

  16. ScarlettHairdye +19

    I have seen none of the Step Up movies and I have so many questions about this dance number.

    Why is it steampunk themed?
    Who cleaned up all the sand those dudes threw all over the floor?
    Why is Ancient Egypt mad about this dance?
    Why is Effie Trinket also mad about this dance?
    Don’t the dancers know it’s a bad idea to attempt a
    When do I get to step on men?

    1. Phasma Felis +10

      I was also super curious what the premise is here. The Bad Guys appear to have come directly from that scene in every ’80s high school movie where the hero/ine finally busts out of their shell and shows everyone what’s what. The setting looks like a cross between Mad Max and Dirty Dancing, or possibly a Jean Claude Van Damme flick except the underground pit sport is dance-off instead of competitive kickpunching. It all suggests a wonderfully cool/cheesy world of dystopian sci-fi dance wars which I’m sure is not actually present in the movie?

    2. Ben +7

      Ok sorry to ruin your imagination but basically the story of step up 5 (Also known as step up : the worst one) is that a group of dancers are competing in a dance contest to win a spot dancing with some dance person in vegas. It’s a tournament of dance offs themed around different things that are just an excuse to throw anything into the mix. There’s no real coherent logic behind the set pieces or anything other thatn ‘for the sake of dance’ unlike step up 4 (Also known as the dumbest best one) where they try to make the dances ‘political’ and ‘relevant’ and it’s god damm glorious.

  17. HelloChel +6

    I watched the video for over 4 minutes with the sound off since I am at work. Then I scrolled down to read the rest and saw the GIF. Maybe it is time to go home.

  18. Crowdfunding +5

    Dance movies are my weakness. Doesn’ matter if it’s StepUp Bollywood or the old Astaire/Rogers stuff they repeat at christmas. I waited for years for ANY Step Up movie to be available on U.S. Netflix or Amazon Prime and they NEVER WERE and finally I broke down and acquired the first two elsewise when I was sick one time. So that’s my story.

  19. Earthgirl07 +5

    So, the first Step Up movie is set in Baltimore, my hometown, and it came out when I was spending the semester abroad. I went to see it at the little theater in the town where i was staying, and it warmed my homesick heart despite the cheesiness (and the fact that I don’t think it was even filmed here).

    So that’s my Step Up story.

  20. sidkettle +26

    My Step Up story is that one time I went cave tubing in Belize with this nice couple I randomly met and it turned out that they had been in a movie recently. I hadn’t seen it, but rented it when I got home out of solidarity. Guess which movie it was and who was suddenly mega-famous a few years later :p In other news, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan are are both pretty cool people.