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entertaining u newspaper: your weekly guide to entertainment
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Codename: The Cleaner
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by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
B Rated PG-13 110 min
Although this film, directed by Sylvain White is derivative and predictable, its premise of encouraging aggressive military styled dancing–stomp-- as an alternative to violence redeems the picture as noteworthy. More significantly, the film portrays blacks in a higher-education setting (Truth University) and not in the cliche-ridden hip-hop milieu of urban street crime. Yet, this stomp styled dance is staged as mock war, in that, the opposing forces square off against each other in a fierce competition–without bloodshed. Of course, as the story portrays, violence can spill over after the dance competitions and lead to shootings. These young men are revved up on adrenalin and they need to cool down before mixing with the competition.
As a film, the role of this trend fueled scenario is exciting entertainment, but it also helps to turn-on the kids to this new dance craze which was acted out at our premiere by a trio of dance groups. The story involves brothers who are into the hip-hop dance scene in what is called war dancing. DJ is troubled but working out his demons by dancing. His brother is more intellectual but also into the dance scene. At a competition the brother gets into a heated argument with a competitor and on the way home he is shot in a violent confrontation. DJ is devastated by his brother’s death. However, he is arrested and charged with felony assault for his participation in the incident. This arrest comes back to haunt him later when he is accepted in Truth University.
DJ’s mother is married to a man who owns a landscape company contracted to groom the Truth University grounds. As a student, she dated the present University Dean, who is bitter about her marriage to this “lawn man.” DJ returns home to mom and her husband helps get him into the school as a working student.
Not surprisingly, DJ has a difficult time adjusting to college life, but he discovers the Stomp dance scene run by the individual fraternities, who compete against each other at a yearly dance competition. At first he rejects the fraternities, but his interest in Stomp dancing eventually makes him change his mind. His trip to the University museum of past alumni including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks who were pledged to the Greek houses, helps him to finally pledge to Nu Gamm Xi who want to use his streetwise dancing to upgrade their Stomp routine.
Of course, romance comes calling. DJ is interested in a young woman student, April (Meagan Good) who is dating a rival fraternity brother. He’s a jerk, and jealous of DJ. This created the romantic tension that predictably leads to a showdown between DJ and April’s boyfriend. Yes, a monkey could predict where all this is going, but it’s entertaining as the dance scenes dominate the movie.
Eventually the school finds out about DJ’s arrest and he is suspended for a year. Oh how sweet it is as circumstances lead up to the big competition. Indeed, director White shot the dances scenes infusing creative shots with hand held cameras and enhanced action. The dancers leap into the air to freeze frame as the audience cheers. At the end, viewers want to see Stomp performed live or participate in it. And this is the value of this movie–inspiring young people to do something positive with their nervous energy.
“Mainstream America isn’t really familiar with stepping – yet,” says producer Will Packer. “We had a chance to create a rich view of this world that is relatable to people who know nothing about it. At the same time, even stepping aficionados will find it realistic…There hasn’t been a film that has attempted a realistic portrayal of African-American college life since Spike Lee did School Daze in 1988,” he adds. “We try to be authentic and true to not only the stepping, which is spectacular, but also the goals of these organizations, which is to aid and serve the community.”
Executive producer Rob Hardy observes that the heart of the movie is revealed in the pivotal scene in which DJ examines the photo exhibit in Heritage Hall. “When DJ goes through Heritage Hall and sees all the different fraternity and sorority members from Martin Luther King to Rosa Parks to Dr. Betty Shabazz and Michael Jordan, it provides a bridge from the great leaders of the past to the astronauts, businesspeople, entertainers and politicians of today. And, just like on the step team, we all have to get together and combine our individual strengths to become one successful unit. I hope in some small way our film gets that idea across.”
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