A good routine

Step Up takes a familiar formula and pumps it full of energy | Arsenio Orteza

On the first day of its release, Step Up (PG-13 for occasional profanity and violence) became the No. 1 film in the country, and it's not hard to see why. Like Earth, Wind and Fire, the R&B band whose song "Getaway" is briefly heard during one of many musical moments, Step Up takes a familiar formula and pumps it full of energy. The main formula here is that opposites attract.

So it is that aspiring professional ballerina Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), a senior at the Maryland School for the Arts, falls for Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum), a neglectfully supervised foster child whose main talents are hip-hop dancing, basketball, and stealing cars.

Tyler, as punishment for a vandalism conviction, is assigned community-service duty at Nora's school. A series of only-in-Hollywood coincidences transpires. Before long Tyler has become Nora's rehearsal partner for her all-important senior showcase.