DVD review: Stomp the Yard

When this movie was out in theaters, son & I wanted to go see it, but never made it. Finally rented the DVD this weekend. I liked it better the first time, when it was called Drumline. Seriously, they took the plot of Drumline, and moved it to stepping instead of a marching band. This made the ending very predictable. My son & I looked at each other during the competition scene and both agreed there would be a tie, requiring a face-off. And we were right.

Similarities:
Both set in college in Atlanta.
Protaganist for both is "not from the South". If I remember correctly, Drumline's main character was from NY, and Stomp the Yard's main character was from LA.
Both protaganists lied to get into college.
Both protaganists pursued a girl who was considered to be out of their league.
Both protaganists needed to learn how to be part of the team and not just out for their own glory.
Both movies had a big competition, with Sway from MTV making an appearance as commentator or host.
Both protaganists wanted to "modernize" the performance, and both had someone in charge who preferred to keep it traditional.
Both protaganists had an occurrence that kept them from competing with their group in the big competition (but in Stomp the Yard, DJ was reinstated and was able to compete in the battle to break the tie).
Both had the big competition with the big rival end in a tie.


I really didn't care for the way the movie was shot - the camera angles and so on - for the dance scenes. I can't really explain what/how these were done, but I felt like it caused the the audience (me) to have a disconnect with the scene.

My rating: 2 1/2 stars