BREAKIN’

Release Year: 1984

BREAKIN’ 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

Release Year: 1985

Starring: Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quiñones, Michael Chambers, Ice-T, Christopher McDonald (from Grease 2, Thelma And Louise, and Happy Gilmore)

Two films produced by The Cannon Group, known for their low budget b-movies that were made to cash in on the latest pop culture craze (Ninjas, Cyborgs, Barbarians, and in this case, break dancing).  Although initially greeted with jeers when first released, because of Cannon Films’ reputation of putting out cinematic trash, Breakin’1 and 2 grossed almost $75 million against tiny budgets and have become cult classics (the first more so than the second, but still…) because of their energy and vitality.

The plot of the first film (such as it is) involves Kelly, a struggling young dancer (the radiant Lucinda Dickey) who meets up with two breakers, Ozone (Adolfo Quiñones) and Turbo (Michael Chambers – my sister Mylee and I went to school with him) and her attempts to enter the burgeoning hip hop subculture.

As Kelly (now christened, “Special K”) immerses herself in Ozone’s and Turbo’s lives, she discovers that they have a bitter ongoing rivalry with another dance crew, Electro Rock, and when her talents help her new friends defeat their poppin’ and lockin’ adversaries, she becomes their hero and a big hit on the streets and clubs of Los Angeles.

The first film boasts groundbreaking choreography, a killer, platinum-selling soundtrack, the first performance by Ice-T, and cameos by then unknown stars Lela Rochon and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

BREAKIN’ 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, released less than a year later, involves our three protagonists from the first film helping some kids keep their neighborhood community center open and blah, blah, blah…

The plot is still threadbare thin, the dialogue is still flat, and the budget is still low (even lower than the first?) but the soundtrack and dancing are still on fire.

 

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength. -Proverbs 17:22