A surprise hit at the box office, this tale of black youths that work out their problems on the dance floor through stepping competitions isn’t too bad, but you’ve seen the plot elsewhere.
What the back of the box says:
With April’s help, DJ learns about the legacy and heritage behind the fraternities and decides to join up. Now part of an official step group, DJ must balance rehearsals, work, and school, while at the same time winning the heart of the girl of his dreams. With the National Step Championship drawing closer, DJ must learn to stop dancing as an individual, and to start stepping as a team.”
I guess I have to say upfront that I’m an old Caucasian and probably not the intended audience for this film since it seems to appeal to black youths. I’m also not familiar with the practice of stepping. So if terms like “popping” or “crumping” are Greek to you as they are to me then you might’ve thought the same way. However, by the end of it I was drawn into the story (although the outcome was not exactly in question).
The plot is a well worn one – streetwise youth is drawn into a different world and ends up excelling there. We also get tastes of same youth falls for popular guy’s girl (seemingly unattainable to youth), battling rival fraternities for a title the other possesses, and youth is sought by one frat but ends up joining the other. DJ is said youth who witnessed the death of his younger brother on the streets and is sent to Atlanta, Georgia to live with his aunt and uncle.
His uncle is the head of the college’s grounds keeping department so DJ is working his way through college by mowing the lawns and trimming the shrubs. The Mu Gamma Wolves are the top stepping champions and have won the title for numerous years while the Theta Nu Pythons are their direct competition and are getting tired of being in second place. DJ, of course, shows his dance floor skills and is eagerly sought after by both frats.
During this time, DJ gets infatuated with the lovely April (Meagan Good) who just happens to be a double doom for DJ – she’s both the girlfriend of the Mu’s second-in-command and the Dean’s daughter. Needless to say, DJ sets out to woo April. All of these teen or youthful angst plotlines as well as most of the other plotlines involving DJ are old hat and you’ve seen them in other films. What’s different about Stomp the Yard is the stepping style of dancing (perhaps I should say that it was new to me).
It’s shot rather creatively and is really quite interesting to behold, made even more intriguing in that the two groups of actors in the frats really formed their own dance teams are engaged in true competition with one another. I’m glad that I’m not a stepping judge since I’m not sure how you score such a thing, but the competitions are the highlights of the film.
The young actors infuse their characters with a good deal of likeability (or hiss-ability if they’re playing villains). Stomp the Yard won’t win any Oscars but it made for an entertaining viewing for this critic (who probably wasn’t the intended audience).
Stomp the Yard is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. A fullscreen version is available separately. Special features include a commentary with director Sylvain White, editor David Checel, and cinematographer Scott Kevan. Next is the 17 minute “Battles, Rivals, Brothers” which has interviews with director White, Brian White (“Sylvester”), producer Will Packer, Columbus Short, choreographer Dave Scott, assistant step choreographer Chuck Maldonado, Laz Alonso (“Zeke”), Megan Good, and Jermaine Williams (“Noel”). Next is 5 minutes of deleted/extended scenes consisting mostly of dance numbers. A 2 minute “gag reel” completes the special features.
The plot may have been a little worn, but in the end I did enjoy watching the film. Although there was no doubt that DJ would triumph over all the adversity thrown at him, if he didn’t it wouldn’t make much of a happy ending but it would’ve gone against the derivative nature of the film. Just don’t go into it expecting to see too many new plotlines and sit back and enjoy the dancing and you’ll do fine.
Stomp the Yard is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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