(one scene - slow motion runing over sunlit hills, hard chests glistening - seems like an ad for some men’s fragrance, and actually evoked laughter at the screening I attended.) Though at first his fellows worry that he’s “too ghetto,” eventually DJ - whose pledge name is “Knucklehead” - makes his case. It helps that DJ’s charismatic roommate Rich (Ne-Yo, who is adorable here) is also pledging Theta, as they can share the very hard work stepping involves the film includes lots of slow-motioned montages showing their practicing and drilling, with edits distracting from the frankly incredible break-dancing-style moves that DJ choreographs. (DJ might also like the snake they’ve adopted as their mascot/sign, as it’s moderately cooler than the wolf persona taken up by Mu Gamm Xi.) At the same time, DJ also feels guilt and despair over the loss of Duron, channeled into - you guessed it - more anger.Īt Truth (even writing the name feels burdensome), DJ is recruited by two fraternities who think his skills will help them win the national championship he selects Theta Nu Theta because its leader, the very earnest Sylvester (Brian White), extols the virtues of brotherhood more than winning the title (though of course, everyone focuses on winning the title). This also means DJ “owes” Nate, and by extension, Aunt Jackie (Valarie Pettiford), a situation filled with predictable though barely touched-on tensions. Because his Uncle Nate (Harry Lennix) handles landscaping and maintenance at the school he “pulls a few strings” and gets DJ in. The gun pulled on Duron is only what you expect.Īfter a minute or so of grieving over the bloody body (also in slow motion), DJ is shipped off to the next chapter in his life: he’ll stay with his father’s brother and his wife in Atlanta, where “Truth” is located. Sure enough, as DJ and Duron make their way along an ominously dark and abandoned lot, they’re jumped. As soon as his brother Duron (Chris Brown) suggests that they should leave it alone and DJ resists his advice, you know what’s happening next. Even when it makes sense to back off a challenge against a notoriously violent crew, he pushes on, determined to put it in their faces that he and his boys are the best. As the first, lengthy competition scene in Stomp the Yard lays out, DJ is dedicated not only to the art form, but also to winning.
Stomp the yard full movie movie#
Once DJ makes his way into a fraternity at the fictional “Truth University,” the movie has no way out, however: the metaphors are overwhelming.ĭJ initially channels his shoulder-chippy anger at “the system” though crunk, and his innovative moves make him a crowd favorite. crunk battler DJ (Columbus Short), this self-asserting, crew-establishing activity is repeatedly thrilling - even if the frame cuts too frequently and the slow motion seems strangely sentimental. Are we supposed to hate him? What’s the guy supposed to do? Stand there and clap while D.J.Plainly well-intentioned, Sylvain White’s Stomp the Yard is also oddly ponderous, considering its focus on extremely athletic, often airborne stepping. But the only reason they’re enemies is that D.J. The only real adversity he faces in the film comes from a competing dancer at another fraternity. Sure his brother is dead but he’s kind of a jerk. Stomp the Yard keeps it real, real fake and real stupid. People obsessed with posturing and putting up a front, rather than behaving has human beings. Characters are nothing more than thin, facades. There’s not a single moment of reality in the film. But, like all the other movies of this type Stomp the Yard is completely artificial. It’s the achey breaky of dance movies, just because the moves are performed to rap music doesn’t make them any more cool. The only thing that sets Stomp the Yard apart from its street dance genre brothers is that it uses line dancing.
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