CTU SURVIVAL GUIDE: What to Do Before, During, and After Seeing ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’…

The ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’ epidemic has officially hit. There is a reason why the trailer I posted on YouTube has been viewed over 1 million times in the past few months.

People are so mesmerized by the dancing in the film, they have this uncontrollable urge to watch it over and over again. After seeing the whole movie last night, I can guarantee that urge is not going away anytime soon.

The movie was so awesome, I found myself wishing I had a Tivo remote in my hand throughout the entire film so I could replay scenes at will. SU2’s DVD could not come out soon enough as far as I’m concerned.

I know I have a lot of readers who are going to see the movie this weekend or sadly have to wait for it to premiere in your country (we all feel your pain Naz), so I am not going to spoil any of the movie for all of you.

What I would like to do is give you a few tips on how to survive the SU2 craze by letting you know what you’re going to want to do before, during, and after you see the movie. So here goes…

BEFORE

Watch 'Step Up'
Whether you're watching it for the first or 1500th time (like many of us), I think we all should pay our respects to the movie that paved the way for ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’. Watch Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan's 2006 highly successful film 'Step Up' where they managed to both dance their way into our hearts and movie history.

Buy Your Ticket Ahead of Time
A lot of the theaters playing ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’ are selling out, so you may want to buy your ticket ahead of time just to make sure you can go to the showing of your choice. I’ve talked with numerous people who had to go to a later showing because the movie sold out at their theater.

I also learned today that the early numbers are showing that ‘Step Up 2: The Streets’ may have beat all of the other movies in sales on Valentines Day with an estimated per theater average of $2500 and a $6.18 million cumulative, which I'm sure was great news for everyone involved with the film. You can read all about SU2's opening day success at FantasyMoguls.com. More importantly, thanks to all of you fans for helping to make that happen!!!

Show Up Early
Luckily, I was at the theater early, so I was able to get a good seat, but by the time the film started there was standing room only. I had a group of 16 sitting behind me believe it or not, so it was really important that they got there early so they could sit together. At one point, the matredee had to make everyone shift over because there were tons of people still trying to find seats and the movie had sold out. I’m am hearing the same story from many fans around the country.

Find a Good Seat
I’m not a prude or anything, but next time I’m going to try to find a seat next to a family or something, because the couple I sat next to had no issues with public displays of affection. It may be OK to partake in that type of pasttime any other time (and yes I know it was Valentine's Day), but when you’re in an extremely crowed movie theater and I’m literally 1 centimeter away from you, the arm rest just does not give me the comfort zone I prefer in those type of situations. Lesson learned and I digress….

Have Your Theater Turn Up the Volume
SU2 Director Jon M. Chu just emailed me and had one very important addition to my tips. He recommends that the following:

"...Before the movie starts movie goers should talk to the manager of the theater and MAKE SURE that they have the sound at 7.4 or even 7.5 to really be engulfed in the movie. It makes the experience 20x better I PROMISE!!!! I know it's annoying but seriously, there's a huge difference..."

- Jon

You heard the man! Demand that they turn up the volume so you can experience the movie the way Jon intended you to. If they ask why, tell them "because Jon M. Chu said so". ;-)

DURING

Watch Chan’s Cameo and the Finale Over and Over
I could re-watch Channing’s dance routine and the film’s finale over and over and never get tired of it. Before Chan filmed his part of the movie last September, he mentioned to me that he was a little nervous, because he had not danced in while. Well, if that’s how he dances nervous, then we should all be so lucky. I loved it from start to finish and I’m sure you all will too.

Then the movie's finale scene was some of the best dancing I have ever seen in or out of a film in my life. I have been told that it was choreographed by Dave Scott, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. All I have to say is, Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, and their crew of dancers are forces to be reckoned with.

Laugh, Cheer, and Dance
You will find it impossible not to laugh at characters like Moose and Jenny Kido. They are absolutely HILARIOUS and amazing dancers!!! Many cheered when Chan came on screen and when he finished his dance. Cheering was actually a common thread throughout the movie and the incredible soundtrack and dances make you want to get up and dance during the movie.

My theater was a little tamer than others, but I’ve heard numerous stories of movie goers dancing in the isles and practically having a party in the theater. You can blame that uncommon phenomena on the hot soundtrack and incredible choreography throughout the film. I take my hat off to choreographers Jamal Sims, Hi Hat, and Dave Scott for the routines and to director Jon Chu for capturing all of the action so well.

AFTER

Watch the Movie Again and Tell Everyone About It
After seeing the movie, fans can’t wait to get on YouTube and MySpace and let everyone know how much they loved it and how everyone should go see it. The one thing I have heard most often after people talk about how awesome the movie is that they can’t wait to go see it again. I know I'm really looking forward to watching it again tonight, and I know a lot of other fans will be too. Add all of us to all of you who are going to see the film tonight and you get even more reason to buy tickets before hand and show up early.

So without really giving anything away, I hope I've made it clear that I LOVED this movie, and you all should go see it again and again. And after reading this, I hope you can easily survive the SU2 craze that's hitting a theater near you.

I also found a new video below from ReelzChannel.com that explains the difference between 'Step Up' and 'Step Up 2' through interviews with Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Cassie, and director Jon Chu. Enjoy!

Finally, I received some soundtracks and gorgeous autographed posters from the afore-mentioned Jon Chu! I would really like to thank him for sending those, and I will be posting a new contest soon to start giving them and the autographed pictures from Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan to readers. So stay tuned to Channing Tatum Unwrapped!!!

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