If you are a fan of stepping, you will probably enjoy Stomp the Yard: Homecoming. Well, besides the fact that Chance’s step team performs their final dance dressed as rejects from Mortal Kombat. There’s just not much to set Stomp the Yard: Homecoming apart in its genre. There’s drama, inspirational speeches, father/son bonding and a rival team comprised of jerks that just may have a heart of gold hidden beneath their heckling and taunts. The movie plays out just like any other clichéd sports movie that has been released, enjoyed by its target audience, and then eventually forgotten by the average consumer. There’s a few witty jokes sprinkled throughout the movie but what Stomp the Yard: Homecoming really needed was to not take itself quite so seriously and embrace the fact that one day it will be a very cheesy film. The movie, directed by Rob Hardy from a script by Albert Leon and Meena Payne, is in desperate need of a sense of humor. As a movie with a substantial plot, though, the film falls pretty flat. In that way, it works well as a time capsule for a particular dance style and cultural movement. The film is essentially a loosely strung together story designed purely to move the movie from one step competition to the next. The dance sequences are pretty impressive - even if they are doomed to age poorly as the decades progress. Stomp the Yard: Homecoming isn’t an offensively bad film. Other supporting cast members in the film include Pooch Hall, Keith David, Terrence J and original Stomp the Yard star Columbus Short in a cameo role. Chance owes a lot of money to Jay and the hoodlum with the habit of perpetually chewing on a toothpick will stop at nothing to collect - even resorting to a classic super villain team-up when he joins forces with the leader of Theta Nu Theta’s rival step fraternity, Taz (played by Stephen “tWitch” Boss). One such criminal is Jay (played by David Banner). Much like pit bull fights or bum fights, these dance competitions attract the seedy criminal element. Before he joined the step team, Chance made a bit of money on the streets competing in underground dance competitions. If all that excitement wasn’t enough to keep Chance busy, he’s got a bit of trouble from his past brewing. Despite taking place on a college campus, there is a definite lack of scenes that take place inside of a classroom. With all that drama, it’s not surprising that none of the characters seem to go to any of their college classes. He also is caught in the middle of a love triangle with his current girlfriend Nikki (played by Tika Sumpter) and his ex-flame Brenda (the gorgeous Kiely Williams). Homecoming stars Collins Pennie as Chance Harris, a college student who has just recently joined the Theta Nu Theta fraternity’s step team - a group of dancers that combine the athletic prowess of a militant cheerleading team with the unbridled machismo of a football locker room.Ĭhance must balance his duties as a waiter in his father’s restaurant with the extremely rigorous rehearsal time needed to pull off the elaborate synchronized dance routines his step team so effortlessly performs at the drop of a hat. And I mean that in the least racist way possible. As it is now, though, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming offers little drawl to fans outside of its narrow target audience. In that way, the straight-to-DVD sequel to 2007’s Stomp the Yard may one day be seen as universally entertaining - even if its in a so-cheesy-its-good sort of way. I firmly believe in twenty or so years, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming will be seen as a classically kitschy relic of the past in much the same way films such as Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo are seen today. In other words, a movie you probably don’t want to watch. Today: Animal House meets Bring it On meets Step Up. Every week Robert Saucedo shines a spotlight on a movie either so bad it’s good or just downright terrible.
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