Stomp the Yard is another semi-musical held together by a forgettable story line. In the absence of a Gregory Hines, Donald O’Connor, Diana Ross (Lady Sings the Blues), or of course Judy Garland, these offerings are destined to a type of formulaic plateau, a by-the-book safe haven. They’re likely to leave neither producers nor audiences overly excited or disappointed. Stomp the Yard is one of the more successful representatives of this group, leading the box office in three separate weeks in its theatrical release.

DJ (Columbus Short) and April (Meagsan Good) are students at a traditional Black college, where steppin’ , a dance form, provides an avenue for competition between fraternities both on campus and nationally. While the term steppin’ is widely applied in dance, the style here most resembles a hybrid of an inner-city drill team and an aerobics class, moving to a funky beat.

DJ hales from the ghettos of L.A., the distance from the southern college he attends, with its spoiled and privileged students, being farther than miles could ever express. But this spin-on-the-head, back-flipping, improvisational street dancer has skills that the otherwise haughty frat boys need. While some consider him too ghetto, he could be the key to winning the national competition, the real prize being the provost’s daughter, who dates last year’s top Stepper on campus.

Ping Pong (2002); Directed by Fumihiko Sori

Chances are you could take a sports movie from the last decade, and (allowing for production-style variations and the particular sport) edit them all together, put Ben Affleck in a few scenes as a coach, and nobody would know the difference. A scoreboard with time running down, the underdog team two points behind, and 10 pairs of squeaking Nikes, and you’ve got a sports flick. And then there’s Ping Pong.

Made in Japan, the movie visits the deeper questions about sports and competition, avoiding clichés and pat answers while providing a true drama that eclipses redemption for the underdog sagas.

“Peco” Hushino (Yôsuke Kubozuka) is an over-the-top, in-your-face trash-talker whose game is as aggressive as his demeanor. His histrionics mask a not-so-deep-down insecurity. His friend, Smile (Arata), with whom Peco has shared the sport since childhood, receives little joy from overcoming opponents. Both come to terms with their proclivities in a screenplay that pleasurably mines new insights from the increasingly bare repository where athletic narratives are found.

Plays May 25-31 at the Grand Illusion