Stomp the Yard (D or 1/4 stars)
Dancers do their thing in 'Stomp the Yard', directed by Sylvain White. DJ (Columbus Short) moves from L.A. to Atlanta after the death of his younger brother. Attending college, DJ joins a fraternity and discovers 'stepping' (a complex, staccato style of dancing performed in most African-American fraternities). He's a natural at it, and is embraced by most of his peers. But there's a rivalry between his frat and another one. Not only will battle lines be drawn at a sold-out stepping championship, but DJ will have to face-off against the leader of the other fraternity ... a guy who used to date DJ's current girlfriend, April (Meagan Good). There are some genuinely poignant moments between DJ and April. Some of the dance steps are cool. Other than that, there's not much that is redeeming in this film.
DJ was a troubled hip-hop/street dancer from L.A. before he 'relocated' to Atlanta. To prevent a stay in juvenile hall, he gets some help from his well-off Aunt and Uncle who enroll him in the impressive Truth University (a historically black college). There, he can hopefully have a fresh start. He meets April (who ends up breaking-off a romance with DJ's rival), & all seems right in the world. But he's not doing well in school. He's not sure if 'stepping' is right for him. His peers start abandoning him because he refuses to train as much as he could. Trouble's brewing in his family. He can't seem to overcome the death of his brother, etc.
DJ battles some demons & discovers that friendship, teamwork, dedication, and brotherhood can get you farther than you think. Everything culminates at the big stepping championship ... big surprise. Alliances are forged. Enemies stand down, blah, blah blah. I wouldn't call 'Stomp the Yard' compelling. In fact, for what it's all about, I'd barely call it energetic. Just when something interesting got started on the screen, it would be abandoned for 'step' training. And the problem with that is, the 'step' dancing wasn't that great to begin with, In fact, I thought it would carry the film by being a lot more impressive. The music in the movie is just so. The sports angle of the film could have been handled better. The coming-of-age story is a bit underdeveloped. I've seen worse, but I've seen a lottt better.
DJ was a troubled hip-hop/street dancer from L.A. before he 'relocated' to Atlanta. To prevent a stay in juvenile hall, he gets some help from his well-off Aunt and Uncle who enroll him in the impressive Truth University (a historically black college). There, he can hopefully have a fresh start. He meets April (who ends up breaking-off a romance with DJ's rival), & all seems right in the world. But he's not doing well in school. He's not sure if 'stepping' is right for him. His peers start abandoning him because he refuses to train as much as he could. Trouble's brewing in his family. He can't seem to overcome the death of his brother, etc.
DJ battles some demons & discovers that friendship, teamwork, dedication, and brotherhood can get you farther than you think. Everything culminates at the big stepping championship ... big surprise. Alliances are forged. Enemies stand down, blah, blah blah. I wouldn't call 'Stomp the Yard' compelling. In fact, for what it's all about, I'd barely call it energetic. Just when something interesting got started on the screen, it would be abandoned for 'step' training. And the problem with that is, the 'step' dancing wasn't that great to begin with, In fact, I thought it would carry the film by being a lot more impressive. The music in the movie is just so. The sports angle of the film could have been handled better. The coming-of-age story is a bit underdeveloped. I've seen worse, but I've seen a lottt better.