Step Up: Revolution is changing the way we look at movies about people who dance to save the rec center by focusing on saving an entire city. The latest installment in this franchise that C-Tates built, yo, deals with a young girl who moves to Miami to become a professional dancer, and instead meets an edgy tough guy who runs an underground flash mob troupe. But that flash mob, known fittingly as “The Mob”, is threatened when Peter Gallagher and his giant eyebrows want to level the ‘hood to build a highrise. Will one giant flash mob save the city? God, we hope so.
Alas, big, bushy eyebrows aren’t the only problems facing Step Up: Revolution. It turns out the film features a scene in which “The Mob” enters a house party wearing gas masks, and it has obviously been compared to antics of the shooter (AKA Sh*t Goblin) in Aurora, Colorado. The comparison forced the brain trust of Summit Entertainment to meet yesterday and consider removing the scene from the film, which opens tomorrow.
So did Summit cave to the pressure, or will dancing save the human heart, too?
Summit Entertainment’s STEP UP REVOLUTION is an uplifting film that celebrates the redemptive power of dance. There is a brief scene in the film in which a troop of dancers enter a room wearing gas masks as props and the dancers immediately go into a choreographed routine. Because of last week’s tragic events in Colorado, Summit immediately removed television advertising that briefly showcased that scene from the film. The scene also briefly appeared in a trailer released three months ago that the studio is no longer actively servicing. Having taken these steps, Summit will open this inspirational, nonviolent film in theatres nationwide this weekend as originally edited. (Via Deadline)
Realistically, Step Up: Revolution isn’t the kind of blockbuster like Gangster Squad that can just be moved back or significantly altered at the cost of the studio. But it also makes sense that Summit would push the “positive vibe” aspect of these dance films. After all, the guys in my breakdancing crew are also inspirational speakers.
You can also see just how inspirational this film will be in a new clip that was just released. Notice how conveniently the cargo bins are set up. That’s really the key to pulling off a great flash mob.