Breakdance 2

When the movie "Breakin'" came out the whole trend of breakdancing was everywhere. It was absolutely huge. So obviously they needed to make a sequel but this time to focus on breakdancing's little brother, Electric Boogaloo. And a meme was born. And I mean that literally. Electric Boogaloo became the standard response to whenever a movie was coming out with a sequel for decades to come.

Batman Returns? No, people called it "Batman 2: Electric Boogaloo". Terminator 2? Of course not. It was "Terminator 2: Electric Boogaloo". It's so popular a saying that even 35 years later people are still making this comment whenever a new sequel is coming out. Usually it is reserved for movies that are less popular or people wonder why they're making a sequel but occasionally you get a wag that didn't get the memo.

The story itself is pretty standard fare. The main characters are back. Kelly is now dancing in some chorus line somewhere and wanting to go to France. While Ozone and Turbo are heading up a youth center called "Miracles". But along comes an evil developer that wants to put up a shopping mall where Miracles is. So the only way to save it is to put on a show, raise a lot of money and make sure that the mortgage on it is paid and that Miracles stays where it is. This is a plot device that I seem to recall being used by the Lil Rascals back in the day. And I mean the actual B&W series from the 30's.

This is cut with scenes of what Shabba-Doo a.k.a Ozone and Boogaloo Shrimp a.k.a Turbo do best which is dance. And let me tell you, this is something they are able to do. When it comes to their acting? Not so much.

To call the plot contrived and the actors not being able to act is like calling a duck a duck. They're not actors, they're dancers and that's what you came to see.

The movie itself is pretty bad but as I said, if you're seeing this for any other reason than either you love bad movies or want to see them dance then you're here for all the wrong reasons.

Rich girl Kelly Bennett is now a chorus dancer after the close of Street Jazz. She and Ozone are together and his ex Rhonda is jealous. Turbo falls for Latina dancer Lucia. Ozone and Turbo are teaching street dancing to the kids. Byron runs local community center Miracles where they hang out. Developer Douglas is trying to tear it down and build a shopping center. Sleazy minion Randall pushes the local government to tear it down. The dance trio defeats the Electros in a dance off. The community has to battle the developer to save their Miracles.

I don't remember Kelly having a rich family in the first movie. I guess it's possible that she was being independent working in that diner. It looks more like a manufactured class conflict between Kelly and her street life. This time around, the movie is asking more acting from the group and it's met with varying results. Kelly and Ozone have no real romantic chemistry. It double-downs on the first movie's little crush and the actors struggle to have any heat. It's cute to have love sick Turbo and he has one of the best upside down dance sequences ever. They recreate that shack so well that it's almost a perfect transition between the real world shack and the rotating one. The only truly awkward transition happens when Lucia walks into the room. She's stuck to the wall when Turbo is dancing upside down. This sequel is a cheesier effort highlighted by that one awesome dance sequence and a sequel title for the history books. Ice-T does return to do more rapping.

If for no other reason, watch the film to see poor Ice-T delivering what may be the most badly written rap lyrics of all time! This is an unintentionally very funny film. Funnier if you were a teenager in the 80's, because you remember it all. The kids do dance well. The 'gang members' are so un-menacing, it's just precious. The dance number in the hospital is breathtakingly ridiculous. Have Fun!

Sequel to the '80s "classic" Breakin' with an old Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland plot about putting on a show to save a community center. The same main characters are back and haven't changed any. Turbo (Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers) is still the fun and likable one with the best dance moves. Ozone (Adolfo 'Shabba-Doo' Quinones) is still kind of a downer with a huge chip on his shoulder. He's also the weakest dancer in the movie. Kelly aka Special K (Lucinda Dickey) is still the rich girl who has big decisions to make about her career and her love life. Her dancing has significantly improved from the first movie. Lucinda is as pretty as ever but she has competition now from Turbo's girlfriend, played by the lovely Sabrina Garcia (whose Spanish-speaking voice sounds like it was dubbed by a child). The epic rivalry with Electro Rock continues and we get a fun dance-off out of it. There's more dancing this time around with Turbo's gravity-defying dance scene a highlight. As with the first movie, it's pretty cheesy but amusing in its way. It certainly has nostalgic value for people of my generation. If you don't take it seriously you'll probably enjoy it more.

For all the B-Boy and all the B-Girls.... This movie represents! I wouldn't expect anyone who didn't live the breaker life to appreciate it. I get just as excited watching this film as I did when I was little. It's a classic!