A lot the problem isn’t with this film in particular, as the sheer number of dance movies released every year borders on the ludicrous when you realise how similar all of them are. That said, this is depressingly haphazard and seems like a wasted opportunity to address certain real-life issues. Amy (Fleur Houdijk) is Ethan’s besotted next door neighbour taking care of her near-comatose father (a mute John Barrowman), Brian (Gamal Toseafa) is the chubby kid who may or not be a brilliant dancer and Tim (Dominic Herman-Day) and Rebecca (Amelia Clarkson) are the painfully posh brother-sister duo who are more familiar with the ballroom than the street when it comes to dancing. There are slight, and outdated, class issues in the way Tim and Rebecca dominate the comic relief, which is just one of many issues I had with the film. I don’t claim to know how young audiences will respond to the film (there was a young child in my screening who enjoyed it immensely) but adults will have a hard time swallowing the overwhelmingly anti-adult sentiments of the film. In this world, the kids know best and their parents are just trying to keep them down. I have a problem with this attitude, no matter how true to life it is, and feel it’s a little irresponsible for a film targeted at the very young to include so overtly. Only Ashley Jensen’s club runner and Kimberly Walsh’s doting mum are left out, as well as the villainous characters who inevitably come around in the end. Houdijk’s (Billy Elliot The Musical) nice girl-next-door was the stand-out performer for me, with an easy likeability and some relatively meaty drama to deal with. But otherwise, the only saving grace of the film is its high-energy dance sequences. One day we might see a dance movie that remembers to do something different with its story, but it’s clear that today is not that day. Despite attempting to tackle topical issues like arts cuts and closing youth centres, it offers no solution to the problem other than collection boxes and sit-ins – I get the sense that All Stars won’t be catching the government’s attention. Very young kids might find some enjoyment in All Stars, but it’s corny, light-entertainment cinema at its most irritating. It benefits from an assembly of young talent and reliable Brit stars, but the uninspired story will likely remove any interest you could have had in its central message. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.