Imagine if if all gangsta rap went ballet and there you have Stomp The Yard, Sylvain White's audacious dance musical. Is it giving this production too much credit to say that Stomp The Yard dares to be different? The fact that this movie is some form of strange amalgamation between Happy Feet and Freedom Writers, does speak to the movie's fearless, occasionally shameless concept of making sweet music instead of war. Yes people still die in this film despite the smiley-face theme, and the idea that a troubled nineteen-year-old street dancer from Los Angeles can escape Juvenile Hall and a life of crime and revenge--by stomping and dancing--is certainly a bold statement. (Unlikely that director John Singleton would have come to the same conclusion) So by concept alone, Stomp The Yard is a very unique film.

Besides, even if I wanted to critique the "dance" itself, and state that the tired choreography more resembles a synchronized freak-out as reenacted by Orlando Jones, I must remember that there are people who love this sort of thing. Admittedly, eventually, you do start tapping your feet and getting into the spirit of stomping. Not that every number is a winner; some moves were really lame, and only saved by the fact that all of the stomp numbers happen in fast-forward motion, an engaging surrealistic effect. The point is, why dis the dance when there is so much more to despise in Stomp The Yard?

Though Columbus Short actually does have a friendly presence and effectively carries the movie as an actor, the melodramatic plot is absurd. As a protagonist, DJ seems to wander through the movie aimlessly and clumsily stumble into success with his woman, his fraternity and his well-meaning relatives. How did he get there? How did he win over all of these peoples' hearts, particularly the heart of girlfriend April? Well you see, that just doesn't matter. Stomp. Stomp. Clap. Wiggle. Slap. And there ya go, Stomp The Yard makes its point.

The script is inane and the characters in Stomp The Yard are slightly more developed than the guy who gets axed in the first ten minutes of the film. As a genuine piece of story telling, Stomp doesn't even put a foot onto the dance floor. And the world seems to agree with me--in fact, maybe too much. At IMDB.com Stomp is currently ranked as the #24th worst movie of all time. Yes, even lower than Glitter, Kazaam, Gigli, and tI's Pat. While Stomp The Yard fails to effectively tell its story, I don't think the movie quite deserves such a cruel fate.

The film did have an intriguing concept, but perhaps was misdirected, lapsing into sappy human drama far too often, instead of turning up the surrealism and focusing on all those happy feet. You know things are bad when, during the last quarter of the film, the girlfriend has to remind the main character why he's doing all of this. Gee kid, I hope you do love to stomp and are fulfilling your dream. This is why we all bought a ticket, no? If Stomp The Yard isn't about all those fancy steps, then what really is the point? Grade: D+