* * *

Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Will Kemp, Sonja Sohn. Written by Tori Ann Johnson and Karen Barna. Directed by John Chu. Rated PG-13. 98 minutes. Buena Vista Pictures.

I didn’t care for 2006’s Step Up, the tale of a thuggish young Baltimore street dancer turned legit at the Maryland School of the Arts. The cliché-ridden hit film was merely an excuse to show off some nice moves hung on a paper-thin, tired formula of star-crossed lovers coming to terms. And though Channing Tatum breathed life into that picture, it was largely, laughably, forgettable.

It was to my surprise then that the sequel, Step Up 2 the Streets, set in the same institution and this time about a lost teen looking for a family and finding it in a motley group of talented student outcasts, turns out to be an engaging, well-acted and superbly danced little movie. It may not be anything new, great or original, but it is endearing.

With two nice lead performances, some charming supporting characters, a couple worthwhile messages and some solid dance sequences, Step Up 2 the Streets plays like a hybrid of 80s movies Tuff Turf and Fame, with the dependable old, "Hey, let’s put on a show" formula that gives this movie a decent measure of Breakin’ to boot. Produced by choreographer and Hairspray director Adam Shankman, the film knows its way around a dance sequence.

Baltimore teen Andie (Briana Evigan) is running from the pain of her mother’s untimely death. She’s looking for connection, and finds it in her "crew" of street dancers named the 4-1-0, a radical underground faction prone to staging expressionistic public dance demonstrations, which the film ludicrously suggests is "criminal activity" in what is really just a minor case of disturbing the peace. The film opens with a fun subway sequence that sets the tone for some impressively original choreography.

Andie lives with guardian and mother’s former best friend Sarah (Sonja Sohn, channeling Angela Bassett), exasperated with the teen’s delinquency and ready to ship her off to Texas. Unexpectedly accepted into the dance program of the prestigious Maryland School of the Arts, Andie encounters a tough headmaster and former ballet star (Will Kemp) and his younger brother, big man on campus Chase (Robert Hoffman). The two make a likable young couple, refreshingly free of the cynicism that plagues most movie teens today. They’re just nice kids, and that itself seems novel.

Of course, Andie has much to learn about dance technique, while star Chase rallies a group of misfits into a crew of their own, intending to compete in a showdown entitled "The Streets," where—you guessed it—Andie will face off against former "family" the 4-1-0, embittered at her new life and friends.

Andie and Chase become believable friends if not quite romantic, and the film ends on a sweet note after some fantastically energetic and original dancing during a rain swept competition in a crowded parking lot. It is quite a scene, and it explodes with music and exuberance. It goes without saying that the nerdy group—including pencil-thin Moose (Adam G. Sevani), who moves like a young Michael Jackson, and Mari (Jenny Kido) an Asian exchange student who supplies the film with several politically incorrect laughs—are each supremely talented dancers, and the film lets them strut their stuff in its fun finale.

Make no mistake, Step Up 2 the Streets is a formula all right, but its heart is in the right place. There are worse things in movies today than a feel-good teenaged dance film singing the virtues of responsibility and family, and with the exception of the one-dimensional and broadly snobbish instructor who, of course, comes around by the end, the film feels heartfelt. I don’t want to oversell its merits, but Step Up 2 the Streets definitely has its charms—no guns, no foul language, no violence and two sweet young actors with heaps of talent.

Evigan, with her sultry, soft-spoken voice and fresh smile, and Hoffman, with his sparkling brown eyes and expressive body, are really something special together. During a would-be courtship set upon a tree limb, they have genuine chemistry.

While it will be undoubtedly dismissed in most corners, Step Up 2 the Streets is an unpretentious, innocent and exuberant movie throwback. I’d call it a guilty pleasure if I felt remotely guilty about it.

- Lee Shoquist