BREAKIN' - The Eighties personified!

For those of you paying attention to my content here, you'll know that I'm huge into the eighties. Flock of Seagulls, the Atari 2600, Mister T, feathered hair - and of course Breakdancing. While I could never master such tricky moves (it was only a year or two ago when I got ahold of a "You can Breakdance" video that I finally learned to moonwalk), I do remember fondly the breakers at school with their cardboard mats and gigantic boom boxes poppin' and lockin' every day after school.

And where there are huge fads to be exploited, there are folks like Roger Corman and Menahem Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus were there, ready to spring into action. Oh sure, it was shamelessly capitalizing on the trends of the day, and the movies were the lowest of the low budget productions, but they were also generally entertaining and fun to watch. Cannon films seemed exceptionally adapt at tapping into what the youth of America wanted to see - Ninja, breasts, gunplay, swordplay and Chuck Norris bringing a bucket full of pain to Commies and Arabs.

Now Breakdancing wasn't quite as whored out as the other trends of the eighties, but Cannon did go to the Hip-Hop well three times: Breakin', the infamously subtitled Breakin' II: Electric Boogaloo and the Mario Van Peebles vehicle Beat Street. Where Beat Street was more dour and gritty and realistic, the two Breakin' movies were light and colorful and much more idealistic - which is why I probably favor them over the heavier tone of Beat Street.

The plot to Breakin' is nothing new - in fact the story goes back to the forties and the Mickey Rooney "Lets put on a show and save the orphanage" shows like Babes in Arms or Strike Up the Band, where the plot is really nothing more than a basic framework to hang a bunch of song and dance numbers on.

Meet Kelly (played by Lucinda Dickey, who would go on to star in another Cannon classic: Ninja III: The Domination), a waitress at a local burger joint in LA who dreams of becoming a dancer on Broadway. The problem is, she just can't seem to catch a break, and needs something new and fresh to break out of her rut. Enter Ozone and Turbo (Played by Shabba-Doo and Boogaloo Shrimp, sporting far cooler real life names than their in-film characters), the baddest street dancers down on the boardwalk. Oh sure, chumps like Electro-Rock are always getting up in their grill trying to start something, but much like MC Hammer, they cant touch Ozone and Turbo.

Kelly becomes captivated by the pair's funky fresh moves, and begs them to teach her how to Breakdance. Her agent, however, isn't so down with the street. Kelly has potential, but if she really wants to make it, she'll have to abandon these low brow street dancers and commit fully to the more accepted dance methods.

Meanwhile, Ozone has a similar problem. His friendship with Kelly means that he could quit his day job sweeping out the corner supermarket and dance professionally - if he gives up the street. As much as he wants a shot at the big time, Ozone doesn't want to compromise his look and his roots by selling out. Can Ozone and Turbo convince the narrow-minded The Man that breakin' is a legitimate form of art? Will Kelly help Ozone gain success while staying true to his ideals? And what of the evil Electro-Rock gang, looking to bring down the pair in a dance off to end all dance offs?

Okay, so the story is basically Flashdance, but with Breakdancing, the premise is goofy as hell and the whole production is very firmly trapped in the eighties in both look and style, but I couldn&#146t help get won over by the movie's innate charm, it's positive energy and optimistic tone. The world of Breakin' is a world where the weather is always perfect, the colors are vivid, the cultural diversity is accepted without blinking an eye and conflicts between rival gangs are settled with a breakdance battle instead of knives and guns.

But what Breakin' lacks in realism it more than makes up for with enthusiasm. None of the main cast was veteran actors when Breakin' was made, more familiar with dancing than the thespian arts - and yet they manage to carry themselves through sheer energy and natural charm and stunning good looks. Not that it matters anyway since the real star of the movie is the dancing - and on that front Breakin' acquits itself nicely. From Breakdancing to bits of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire routines, Breakin' is full of lively, energetic dance and musical numbers and some great eighties pop music.

Breakin' was directed by Joel Silberg, who up until this point had worked primarily as a director on movies over in Israel. He would go on to direct a couple more films for Cannon: Lambada: The Forbidden Dance and the fairly forgettable Rappin'. But for now, Joel manages to keep things lively and interesting. Shabba-Doo went on to serve as a choreographer for artists such as Lionel Richie, Madonna, and Luther Vandross - just to name a few. Meanwhile Shabba-Doo managed to spin his carrer into parts in Naked Gun 33 1/3, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, Dudley Do-Right and a spot on an episode of Family Matters. Not exactly a stellar career, but better than I've done. Lucinda did a couple more films before retiring and marrying the co-producer from Survivor.

So they didn&#146t exactly set the film world on fire after this. But we get at least one more Breakin' movie out of them (and, as I hear) rumors of a third one going into production. More importantly, despite what you might have heard, this actually isn't a bad movie. Sure it looks dated, but what's wrong with that? The movie was a product of it's time and culture. Yeah the plot is simple - but then does everything have to be a twisty, turny labyrinth of story telling? Not everything has to be heavy, angry and angsty

In short, Breakin' is simple, harmless, entertaining fun.

THE DVD -
The DVD is presented in a full frame format - but it's not pan and scan. As I understand it, most of the Cannon films in the eighties were shot open-matte format and cropped down to widescreen for release. So of course I'd prefer a widescreen anamorphic print, at least we're not losing any information from the sides - crucial to a movie that has choreography featured so prominently.

THE EXTRAS -
Sadly, the only extra is just the theatrical trailer. There is a box set with both Breakin' movies and Beat Street that comes with a fourth disc full of documentaries and whatnot - but the set came out after the individual releases, so I don't have that and cant tell you anything more about it other than it exists.

THE BOTTOM LINE -
Is Breakin' a good movie? No, not really. Is Breakin' a fun movie? Hell yes - and anyone who knows me knows that fun and entertaining trumps well made and "good" any day of the week (and twice on Sundays).