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Step Up 2: The Streets poster

Movies that feel likeStep Up 2: The Streets (2008)

When rebellious street dancer Andie West lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old life. When she joins forces with the school's hottest dancer, Chase Collins, to form a crew of fellow outcasts to compete in Baltimore's underground dance battle The Streets.

If you loved Step Up 2: The Streets, the closest films we have are Once (2007), Breaking the Waves (1996) and Mohabbatein (2000). All three share Step Up 2: The Streets' contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Tender Mercies (1983).

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See it on the Mood Map

If Step Up 2: The Streets hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Step Up (2006)

Once poster
Once
2007 · dir. John Carney
🍅 97%★ 7.8drama · music · romance

Stylish and contemplative in the same breath

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

Breaking the Waves poster
Breaking the Waves
1996 · dir. Lars von Trier
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · romance

Both are built on the same subject: underdog

The difference: Trades the style of Step Up 2: The Streets for an angle of its own

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.

Mohabbatein poster
Mohabbatein
2000 · dir. Aditya Chopra
★ 7.1drama · romanceNetflix

Both land romance and tenderness at once

At a prestigious all-male university, three friends seek love outside of the school grounds; at the same time, a newly-hired music teacher seeks to befriend and loosen up the militantly strict headmaster.

Cold War poster
Cold War
2018 · dir. Paweł Pawlikowski
🍅 92%★ 7.5romance · music · dramaPrime Video

Stylish music, and it commits to that

A man and a woman meet in the ruins of post-war Poland. With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatally mismatched and yet drawn to each other.

Tender Mercies poster
Tender Mercies
1983 · dir. Bruce Beresford
🍅 83%★ 7.3drama · music · romancePrime Video

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.

A Short Film About Love poster
A Short Film About Love
1988 · dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski
🍅 95%★ 8.1drama · romance

Both lean on hope more than on romance

19-year-old Tomek whiles away his lonely life by spying on his opposite neighbour Magda through binoculars. She's an artist in her mid-thirties, and appears to have everything - not least a constant stream of men at her beck and call. But when the two finally meet, they discover that they have a lot more in common than appeared at first sight...

A Beautiful Life poster
A Beautiful Life
2023 · dir. Mehdi Avaz
🍅 33%★ 6.4drama · music · romanceNetflix

Music built on romance, twice over

When a young fisherman with a hidden talent gets discovered by a music producer, he must decide if he's ready to open himself up to stardom — and love.

Beyond the Universe poster
Beyond the Universe
2022 · dir. Diego Freitas
★ 6.6romance · drama · musicNetflix

Tender drama in both cases

While waiting for a kidney transplant, a young pianist finds an unexpected connection with her doctor — and the courage to fulfill her musical dreams.

Walk the Line poster
Walk the Line
2005 · dir. James Mangold
🍅 83%★ 7.8drama · music · romanceMax

Both lean on style more than on romance

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

The Theory of Everything poster
The Theory of Everything
2014 · dir. James Marsh
🍅 81%★ 7.7drama · romance

Hopeful drama, and it commits to that

Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time.

Leto poster
Leto
2018 · dir. Kirill Serebrennikov
🍅 78%★ 7.3music · drama

Music with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Leningrad, one summer in the early eighties. Smuggling LPs by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike and his beautiful wife Natasha meet with young Viktor Tsoi. Together with friends, they will change the destiny of rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union.

A Star Is Born poster
A Star Is Born
2018 · dir. Bradley Cooper
🍅 90%★ 7.6music · drama · romanceRent or buy

Romance built on romance, twice over

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

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The best-reviewed films that share Step Up 2: The Streets’ defining feeling.