Body Rock

As a long time South Bronx native and Hip Hop culturist, I found this crap be nothing but absolute bulls---. Smh.

It's hard to even describe this movie or how it came into being. My guess is that a bunch of old white guys decided they wanted to get in the "rapping and break dancing thing", but they were too frightened of minorities to let actual break dancers get too close and they weren't entirely sure what rap even was.

"Chilly D", aka Lorenzo Lamas, is an aspiring "graffiti artist", but seeing he doesn't have a future there, he decides to make is as a "rapper and break dancer", and puts together a group of friends to impress a big promoter. He gets some lessons from some people who know how to break dance, and some of those scenes are pretty impressive, but it's strictly B-roll. Chilly himself can barely dance, and as for his rapping... well, another review described it like your "uncle who thinks he's cool", but I disagree; he sounds like someone who's *making fun* of your uncool uncle.

Anyway, they have their show, and the promotor's boss decides that he's going to single Chilly out and make him famous - in spite of the fact the Chilly is objectively the *least* talented guy in the crew. It's never clear what he becomes famous for, since he doesn't rap and other people do the dancing. He does do a halfway decent job on one song ("Smooth Talker"), but it's a straight 80s ballad, nothing at all to do with rap.

Anyway, you get the idea; it's the standard "talented guy gets famous and forgets his real friends until he has an epiphany" plot, except that he's not particularly talented, and he continues to treat his friends like crap. Basically, he remains a self-centered, misogynistic, homophobic jerk, who you kind of want to fail.

How to rate it? It's definitely not good, and while it has some "so bad it's good" charm, there are much better movies by that yardstick as well.

Forget "Breakin'" and those other films featuring dancing chumps, they should bow down to the master: Lorenzo Lamas. Lorenzo Lamas as Chilly D displays an amazing break dancing talent, and his sexy rappin' and breakin' is incomparable and unforgettable. Chilly D wants to take his breakin' and rappin' talent to the masses who deserve to witness his titanic ability to rock the mic and tear up the trembling dance floor. Amazingly, he gains this mastery within the span of a hilarious training montage. Body Rock is essentially a morality tale about Chilly D's tormented desire for Hegelian recognition from the evil overlords of New York break dancing clubs. Unfortunately, after gaining his recognition Chilly D encounters a fate that befalls so many epic heroes; he gets caught up in the excesses of his lifestyle. I would dread to spoil the ending of this flawless underground classic, so see it for yourself and indulge in the mastery that enrobes this film.

The third hip-hop/break dancing musical of 1984 (after Breakin' and Beat Street) and easily the worst. In fact, it barely got released theatrically at all. Lorenzo Lamas stars and let's just say he's no Adolfo 'Shabadoo' Quinones. He's such an unlikable meathead douchebag you'd have to be a sociopath to care whether he's successful in his music/dancing career or not. The other big problem is that the film's music, while not necessarily awful, is in no way hip-hop. It's all techno-pop. Lamas may be Hispanic, but the movie definitely feels like it was made more to appeal to whitebread audiences (not that the other two movies mentioned above weren't also made for that audience, but at least they featured actual black music). If you want authenticity, go for Beat Street. If you want goofy fun, go for Breakin'. If you want to be bored out of your mind, go for Body Rock.

I saw this film about 10 years ago on Sky TV, taped it and still actually have it. I refuse to get rid of it as it does have quite a good soundtrack. Ignoring the implausible plot, and some of the acting performances, it is quite watchable.

The actual dancers, apart from Lamas are really good. I saw both the break dancing (Shabba Doo) films before this, so I was expecting something along the lines of that. I didn't get it. But I have grown to appreciate this film over the years, especially as the 80's seem to have come back in vogue now. Years after these films were made, you can start to see their charm and often become cult favourites. I also love Dance Acadamy (quite an underground film), Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Getting Physical and The Laker Girls, to name but a few.

If you should come across it, watch it, tape it, buy it...collect it as a keep-sake, a great moment in time... ...because they sure don't make them like this anymore!