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Stomp the
Yard: Homecoming
When it comes to hardcore dance
competitions, the winners seem to be the ones who exceed expectations,
break convention and have the capacity to astound and inspire audiences.
Then there are those competitors who make everyone feel awkward by
performing so poorly. Same goes for movies that are centred on dance,
and unfortunately, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming is not a winner.
Chance
(Collins Pennie) is a talented dancer trying to make ends meet by
helping his single-father pay for his college fees. While his attempt to
make money from underground dance battles leads him into trouble with a
dangerous street gang, Chance invests all his hope into a step
competition during homecoming weekend at his university. Up against
dance teams representing different fraternities across the country,
competition is tough, but not as tough as Chance’s rival fraternity
within his own university and the issues he has with his father and his
girlfriend.
As a dance
movie, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming provides an adequately simple
premise – an underdog dancer gets a shot at something big in a
competition and has to prove himself to his cynical father and love
interest. What the movie tries to be, however, is something much deeper
when it doesn’t necessarily need to be. As much of the excitement and
entertaining elements within the film rest in the dancing talent of the
cast and the music that accompanies such dance battles, rehearsals and
performances, the direction of Stomp the Yard: Homecoming does
well in drawing attention to the sharp precision of the choreography and
the powerful expressions of passion that naturally comes from the
dancers. But as the film tries to fit in too many conflicts within the
storyline, the angst, jealousy and testosterone-driven rivalry
overshadows the dance scenes and renders them into mere music video
interludes as the story becomes too preoccupied in surplus emotional
baggage.
The special
features, on the other hand, are a lot more enjoyable to watch. As the
cast and crew worked together like a real fraternity to make the movie,
the friendships they developed and the hard training they underwent are
revealed through behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with the
director Rob Hardy and the central actors, Collin Pennie and Stephen
“Twitch” Boss. Choreographer Chuck Maldonado also explains the
inspiration from which his style and vision for the film’s choreography
came from and how this was co-operatively linked to Hardy’s own vision
for the film as an edgier and more exciting sequel to the first Stomp
the Yard. In addition to this, the special features also include
deleted scenes that are essentially alternatives to scenes already in
the film. It is evident why such scenes were taken out, as they are just
more of the emotional filler that we already see in the film itself.
If the film
had stuck to a more simplified plot and a stronger concentration on the
theatrics of dancing, it could probably have gotten away with being a
crowd-pleaser. But due to its emotional clutter, Stomp the Yard:
Homecoming stomps out any expectations audiences may have had after
watching the original and does a disappointing performance. |
