Movie Name: Breakin'

Director: Joel Silberg

Producer: Allen DeBevoise and David Zito

Starring: Lucinda Dickey, Shabba Doo, Boogaloo Shrimp

Release Date: May 4th, 1984

Box Office: $38.7 million

Introduction

I grew up right in the middle of the breakdance craze. Basically this is from about 1983 to 1987. At this time there was a lot of breakdance albums available and even some that had instructions on how to breakdance. There were also a few movies that came out and this is one of them. I watched Breakin' many years after it came out. However, this still stands out as one of the better breakdancing movies. This could be considered a musical of the 80's. How can I forget the first uncredited acting role of Jean-Claude Van-Damme as a watcher in a breakdance scene in the park. What is this movie all about.

Story / Plot

When you take away the music and breakdance, the plot is pretty simple. This is the story of how Kelley Bennett (played by Lucinda Dickey) meets 2 young breakdancers named Ozone (played by Shabba Doo) and Turbo (played by Boogaloo Shrimp).

Kelley is a classic trained dancer and she is trained by a hard nosed choreographer. He does not believe that breakdancing is a legitimate form of dance. She auditions for a role where she is turned down.

Kelley then attends a breakdancing event where Ozone and Turbo are breakdance fighting against their rival Electro Rock. They are defeated and Ozone is pretty bummed about it. Kelley approaches Ozone and suggests that she can start to learn breakdancing and beat Electro Rock. After a little bit of hesitation, Ozone agrees.

Once Kelley's training is complete she participates in the revenge breakdance off against Electro Rock. This time they win with the surprise entry of Kelley. During this time Kelley tries to convince her agent that the three of them should enter a dance audition. This is not an easy task as the audition is only for traditional dance and not breakdancing.

In any case, they were able to get invited and are the last group of the afternoon. Every one disapproves of them auditioning but they had other plans. Without warning, Ozone rips off his sleeves and proceeds to start breakdancing. Kelley and Turbo follow suit. Although the judges do not want any of it at first, it seems the breakdancers slowly win their hearts and eventually win the audition.

Soundtrack

This can arguably one of the best soundtracks of all time. Yes it is geared towards breakdancing but there is some pretty good Hip Hop, Rap and R&B. There are great tracks on here from Ollie & jerry, Chaka Khan and Ice-T.

Track Listing

"Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" by Ollie & Jerry – 4:34 "Freakshow on the Dance Floor" by Bar-Kays – 4:42 "Body Work" by Hot Streak – 4:22 "99 ½" by Carol Lynn Townes – 4:02 "Showdown" by Ollie & Jerry – 3:57 "Heart of the Beat" by 3V – 4:18 "Street People" by Fire Fox – Music by (Ollie & Jerry) 3:23 "Cut It" by Re-Flex – 3:11 "Ain't Nobody" by Rufus and Chaka Khan – 4:45 "Reckless" by Chris "The Glove" Taylor & David Storrs - Rap by Ice-T – 3:57

I think my favourite songs on this list are Ain't Nobody by Rufus and Chaka Khan and Reckless with rap by Ice-T.

Once the most famous dancing scenes can be found below. It has been said that this scene/video is only surpassed in popularity only by the Moonwalk by Michael Jackson at the Motown 25. Fun fact, Boogaloo Shrimp actually taught Michael Jackson how to moonwalk.

Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers - Broom Scene

Conclusion

I have always liked watching crews and groups breakdance. I love how the genre has evolved but it is always good to know how breakdance started out. Although it started in the early to mid 70's, Breakdancing did not reach its peak until the early 80's.

This is a good movie just to have fun. We are not looking for Oscar winners here. However through the years the fanbase has grown and there is quite a cult following.

What do you think? Did you ever watch this movie?

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