Breakin' (1984)

Load of rubbish!!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Don't watch the finalists in "So you think you can dance!" because it will spoil you to what dance has become. The robot dances are nothing compared to what Cyrus can do. I actually think he's better than the "professionals" that help him in some sequences. Some of the smooth flowing "moon dances" still claim props, but the rest of the routines are boring now. Really, the other team in the krumping challenge walks off with the somersaults by the lead female protagonists. Haha, that's laughable.This movie with time will eventually turn into a historical comedy. That's all.

Those of you who read this site regularly know that, aside from the usual action fare, we will review a classic 80's dance movie from time to time. Well, they don't get any more classic than Breakin', a gem of a movie that is well known for good reason.Kelly Bennett (Dickey) is a waitress who is an aspiring dancer. Strictly by chance, she witnesses the street dancing of Ozone (Quinones) and his buddy Turbo (Chambers) and her life is changed forever. She befriends the two, and just in the nick of time. A dance crew comprised of two men and one woman, the Electro Rock crew, has challenged them to a dance-off. But Ozone and Turbo must teach Kelly, now dubbed Special K, the ways of Breakin'.Now shed of her formal dance training, she goes to her agent James (McDonald) for his support. He is reluctant at first, but once he sees TKO, as they are now called (Get it? "Turbo, Kelly and Ozone". Clever) , he is won over. Plus a potential love rivalry between James, Ozone, and Kelly's former dance instructor Franco (Lokey) is making Kelly's life even more complicated, as is Ozone's hot temper and his loyalty to "the streets". Will TKO pop and lock their way to fame? Breakin' is nothing more than infectious, irresistible fun. It's filled with charm and 80's nostalgia, thanks to the music and clothing. There's plenty of creativity on display in the dance moves and the outfits. Plus it's positive. It really celebrates friendship and the can-do spirit. It comes from a time when battles were fought on the dance floor with moves, not on the streets with weapons. They truly don't make 'em like this anymore. That's why people gravitate to movies like this today. Because they are not making any more of them.Interestingly, because this is a Cannon film, a young Van Damme can be seen in a crowd scene clapping along to the beat and smiling away. Naturally, he's wearing a black wrestling singlet for no reason. He's not listed in the credits, but it's clearly him. Ice-T makes an appearance as the "Rap Talker" at the club Radiotron. His role would be highlighted a bit more in the follow-up film. Plus, this brings into focus that this movie isn't that far of a departure from the action films we normally watch. A Cannon movie featuring Van Damme, Christopher McDonald and Ice-T is pretty much par for the course for us. But instead of fight scenes, there are dance scenes, and the training sequences are to learn dance moves, not fighting moves. Two sides of a coin I tell ya.To compare this to some other movies we have on the site, Ben Lokey as Franco is very Roy Kieffer-like as the dance instructor, recalling Dance or Die (1987), the whole clash of "high" and "low" cultures aspect is also explored in Knights of the City (1985), and, while the soundtrack is good and vitally important, we felt the soundtrack to Body Rock (1984) was better because it had more memorable songs.Director Joel Silberg went on to direct Rappin' (1985) as well as Lambada (1990), so we know where his head is at. He did not go on to direct the Breakin' sequel however. But after Breakin' ends, there is a big on-screen announcement: "Coming Soon: Electric Boogaloo: The Dance Sensation of Tomorrow". So they knew then that there would be a sequel. There's just too much energy to be contained in one movie.It's colorful, fun, funny, and even heartwarming. What's not to like? Anyone who hasn't already seen Breakin' definitely should.for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Sure the story and the acting is a little weak, but most dance movies don't have much of a story or great acting!! The music and the dancing in this movie are awesome, and who can forget Kelly (Lucina Dickey, man was she hot in this movie!! I was about 14 when this came out in 1984! What a perfect age to see this movie and to see Lucinda Dickey in leotards, and who can forget that pink top she is wearing in the one scene, watch it again to see for yourself!! If you are watching it on DVD, it is in the scene around 27:55. I remember TRYING to break dance in the eighties!! The 80's were totally awesome!! There is also some funny scenes in this movie that will make you laugh!

Kelly is a talented dancer training as a professional ballerina. One day she gives Adam, one of her fellow classmates a lift home and stays to watch a group of his friends break-dancing in a series of "battles". Despite being very, very white, Kelly joins in and quite enjoys the different movements it involves. When an unwanted advance and some poor auditions push her away from her chosen career, Kelly starts to fall in with Turbo and Ozone and, when they lose a battle to a group with a female dancer, she agrees to train with them and compete against the Electro Rock crew again.So the accepted wisdom is that Breakin' is a terrible film that happens to have a certain cult appeal with fans who spend their time appealing for a second sequel to be made. On the face of it one can totally understand why both ends of the spectrum would dislike it. On one hand those into hip-hop and b-boy/girl stuff perhaps dislike the way that it was sanitised and made "accessible" for white audiences. Meanwhile those same white audiences take the view that it has no merit and don't see much in the film to change their mind. I tried to come to the film with fresh eyes because, believe it or not, I had never actually seen it.The plot is kinda obvious and of course we have the necessary plot device of a white character as our way into this world – as Kelly gets gradually introduced so do we, it is a common device. It is not the device that makes it weak though but rather the fact that it does tread such an obvious road without ever really engaging or working in terms of being a story with characters. It is just too clunky and obvious to work as anything other than a basic frame for dancing and a flow to prevent boredom and the ultimate destination for the plot is incredibly sudden and unlikely where something much more low-key and character driven would have been better. The plot does work well enough to just about provide structure though and within this frame we do get lots of reasonably good old-school moves with a pretty cool 1980's soundtrack. It should be noted that the moves will mostly not impress those used to the amazing acrobatics that those that follow the modern equivalent but it is still pretty impressive at times.It is also very, very dated – and I mean very dated, time-capsule record of the period style dated. The fashions are cringe-inducing and it doesn't help one get into the film when everything looks so very awful. Likewise the acting leaves a lot to be desired – in particular the "extras". I'm aware that they represent some interest (Van Damme is in there) but other than this they are awfully stiff and, well, "white" and never convince as the crowds around any public dancing. I suppose it is part of making it accessible but to my mind it mostly served to make it painful to watch. The main cast are a bit better but not much. Dickey never struck me as a real person and, while not as bad as the extras, her performance is a bit wooden even if she is certainly skilled in terms of dancing. Considering they were representing their culture on this, Shabba-Doo and Boogaloo Shrimp both come over pretty natural and with a certain amount of charm. Their acting chops are not great when it comes to presenting emotions within key scenes but otherwise they are nice enough and also have plenty of moves. McDonald and Ice-T are both pretty so-so but now add a certain retrospective appeal by virtue of their later careers. Newborn is really too camp to work but is part of the dated appeal as well.Breakin' is far from a great film – it is too wooden, obvious, one-dimensional and sanitised for that; however this is not to say that it is awful. On the contrary the old-school appeal of it adds retrospective charm and the moves and a couple of disarming performances (at times) do help make it easy to enjoy even if there are plenty of aspects that will make you cringe. Come to it for what it is and it is actually reasonably fun to watch.