I didn’t realize how much I missed Cheri Oteri’s comedy until I watched Steppin’ Into The Holiday. She may not be the lead of the movie but she is definitely the best part.

Billy Holliday (Mario Lopez) is a former Broadway star who just got fired from his hit TV show, “Celebrity Dance Off.” As he returns home, he reconnects with Rae (Jana Kramer), the daughter of his former dance teacher. Rae now runs the local studio and is running into problems trying to organize her winter recital. Billy steps in to help and the two fall in love.

To be honest, there were only a couple of times I found myself interested in Steppin’ Into The Holiday. One: The scenes with Billy’s manager, Dallas, (Cheri Oteri), and her dog, Shakira. Two: The scenes where the kids were dancing. Sorry, Mario, you looked ridiculous in most of your dance scenes. Even Billy’s nephew, Junior (Enzo Rodriguez), didn’t look great in the dance scenes. I’m talking about the kids that were dancing during the recital. There were some good dancers in there.

Other than those couple of times, I found the movie to be the same middle of the road fare we always get. It wasn’t terrible. Mario Lopez is rather charismatic so that helps. But it wasn’t great either. It always feels like he’s trying not to overact, which makes him overact. Jana Kramer is fine but she isn’t really given any room to be present. She’s there to dance and make googly eyes at Mario Lopez. Shrug.

If you decide to watch it, and I’m not telling you not to watch it, do it for Cheri Oteri and Shakira. They seriously are the best parts of the movie, even if they only have like three scenes.