Stomp the Yard DVD Review

by Kam Williams

Black Greek Goes Gaga Over Curvy Coed in Dance-Driven DVD

After his brother's murdered in a street fight, DJ (Columbus Short), is fortunate that his Aunt (Valerie Pettiford) and Uncle (Harry J. Lennix) are willing to rescue him from the ghetto. So, he relocates to Atlanta from LA to matriculate at Truth University.

The only hitch is that he had to lie on his application to be admitted, because he has a criminal record. After he arrives, everywhere he goes, he starts noticing the same irresistibly-rounded rump of April (Meagan Good). What this butt-obsessed brother doesn't know is that the curvy coed so obligingly shaking her tail feathers has a cute face to match her pretty posterior, and that she unfortunately already has a boyfriend.

So, standing between DJ and pneumatic bliss is Grant, (Darrin Dewitt Henson) an upperclassman, who just happens to be the best dancer on campus. This is of considerable significance because Truth U. is a place where a man is not judged by the color of his skin but by the content of his choreography.

This means that in order to steal April from Grant, DJ will have to join a frat and strut his stuff in the National Step Championship. So unfolds, Stomp the Yard, one of those cinematic disasters that is godawful, yet enjoyable, in a perverse sort of way.

The picture is so full of implausible nonsense that one could delight in dissecting its flaws ad infinitum. For instance, the students at this institution of higher learning speak with the worst grammar imaginable, such as "You fine, but you ain't all that." Less a feature film, than a two-hour United Negro College Fund public service announcement for anyone interested in obtaining a Ph.D. in bling and booty calls.

A mind is a terrible thing to lose.

Poor (0 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, ethnic slurs and violence.
Running time: 114 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, gag reel, director's commentary, two extended dance sequences, and "The Story of Stomp the Yard" featurette.

judythpiazza@gmail.com

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