STOMP THE YARD is an old-fashioned college movie about someone who shows up for the wrong reasons and slowly comes to recognize that college offers more than a ticket to a life in a foreign realm: last month I looked at ANNAPOLIS SALUTE from 1937 with exactly the same story, and I don't doubt it was decrepit with age then.

But when you're dealing with an old story, the issue is not the age of the plot -- we can assume it's used because it works and the question becomes one of details. Here, we have the story tricked out with issues of belonging -- to a fraternity -- and dance competitions.

Now the choreography of the movie is excellent -- but the style of dance is about confrontation and aggression And that runs directly contrary to the theme of the movie and is a weakness.

I rush to note that the performances are good, even though some of the characters are written -- particularly the lead, DJ -- as a mass of immiscible contradictions. Unless you are a major fan of this sort of dancing, it's not for you. Stick with the Disney TV movie, JUMP IN! Which is the same movie, only about competitive double-dutch jump rope.

I'm often baffled at the ratings that some of the movies end up with out here. This movie is far better than a 3+. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the very beginning, but what I did see was entertaining and well-acted, just what one would usually expect from a film of any sort. Sure, the story's been told, as most stories have, but they all have something a little unique to offer. The dance sequences weren't necessarily awe-inspiring, but they also weren't drawn out so long as to bore you. All in all, I enjoyed this picture. My perspective comes from that of a middle-aged white guy, so it might be quite different from yours.

The beginning does not feel like a teenage drama/movie about dancing at all. It feels really mature. What follows might seem like a bit of a downfall from that, but it really shouldn't be watched like that. Try to enjoy what is coming next. Especially because for a movie about dancing the story is decent enough.

And I should mention that Megan Good(e) is playing in this! If you don't know her, you missed out. While she only had a minor role in "Brick", she alone should be reason enough (for male viewers) to watch this. Right now (2013/14) she's doing a lot of TV if I'm not mistaken, which is almost a shame, but here she has bigger role, even if she has not that much to do (unfortunately! She should've been dancing too imho).