The dialogue is ridiculous, the acting wooden — but that’s not why we go, is it? Ever since Jennifer Grey carried a watermelon, we’ve had a seemingly endless appetite to see the rich girl and the poor boy tear it up on the dance floor.
In “Step Up Revolution,” the fourth installment of this popular franchise, our cut-rate Johnny Castle is Sean (Ryan Guzman, his massive arms confirming his background in mixed martial arts), a hotel waiter smitten with Emily (“So You Think You Can Dance” finalist Kathryn McCormick), whose one-percenter daddy (Peter Gallagher) owns the place. They meet cute at the hotel’s beach nightclub, where she wows him with a sand-throwing dirty dance that can’t have made her all that popular with the other patrons.
Sean, of course, isn’t just a wage slave — he’s also the leader of a ragtag bunch (is there any other kind in these films?) of street dancers known for their well-orchestrated flash-mob antics around Miami. Inventively, they call themselves the Mob.
Incorporating this topical art form — and its symbiotic relationship with social media — into the plot is a smart and creative move. The Mob deploys several cool (if highly unrealistic) numbers, evolving into a sort of kinetic Occupy South Beach movement. One of its best productions, unfortunately, hits a little too close to home right now: At a high-rise gala, dancers burst in wearing gas masks and wielding smoke bombs, causing partygoers to shriek and run for the exits.
The choreography is solid throughout, but director Scott Speer gets in his own way every time, relentlessly shifting camera angles to close-ups and reaction shots when he should be letting us witness the spectacle. The great thing about a flash mob is it’s tailor-made to be filmed by spectators; the one-shot mass effect is the whole point. The overall feel here is frenetic, when what Speer’s going for — and could have had, with this young, talented bunch — is exuberant. (One thing Speer is clearly not concerned with is message. Hilariously, the conclusion involves a monumental sellout that flies directly in the face of the Mob’s whole raison d’être).
Off the dance floor, need I tell you that Sean and Emily’s relationship runs into some class-related speed bumps? Or that one of them really wants to ace an audition for the local conservatory?
There’s a passably fun time to be had here if you’re in the mood for 3-D eye candy and infectious tunes. But you may walk away thinking you could have made a better version with your iPhone.