The Good Problems With The Breakin’ Movies

Do you remember the Breakin’ movies? Yes, those two movies about Turbo and Ozone and Kelly made a lot of money for the studios that financed them. As kids, we probably didn’t see the numerous issues with those flicks but looking back through the lens of an adult, it’s glaring and one sentence could sum it up. It was purely exploitative.

The end.

Truth is that is where this write-up should end but allow me to look deep into my sentimental mind for a bit. You see, as a kid, I knew nothing of this thing called hip-hop and I only gravitated towards whatever my parents or older siblings showed me. Anyway, I can’t remember exactly the year but the first Breakin’ movie I saw was the critically panned sequel, Electric Boogaloo and I loved it. This was a movie my dad taped while we were in the UK and we must have watched it millions of times to the point that I memorized every line in the movie (but none of the dance moves). At that point, I had no idea it was the sequel and I only knew it as Breakdance (UK regional retitling) until years later when a certain family friend gave us the original Breakin’ and that also blew me away. Around the same time, the same family friends (all girls) teased us that there was a part 3 called Break Dance Golden and that Turbo died while pulling a power move. None of these things were true besides the fact that there was a little-known sequel called Rappin’ which had different characters alongside Ice T who was the only one featured in all 3 films.

With that being said, and with sentiments and nostalgia clouding my head-I will admit that I loved these movies. They reminded me of a time when I didn’t have to worry about much and I was learning a lot about myself. Now, back to Breakin’, the original film, to me, was perfect. It had the right tone, it was raw, and the acting was underwhelming (but who cares). It showed these real Break dancers (sans Kelly) in their element, doing what they were supposed to do.

Don’t even get me started on the score and soundtrack, Canon Films and everyone involved did a great job with that one. The intro alone by Ollie & Jerry still gives me Goosebumps today and just seeing Turbo’s foot slide as the bridge comes in is as delightful as eating freshly baked sponge cake. The scene where Turbo and Ozone get demolished by the Electro Rock is seminal and sets things up for the scene where they train Kelly with Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” playing in the background. Can anyone forget Turbo’s broomstick scene? I doubt it but what made this film special is one little scene after the duo took a number L’s in the film is when Kelly had a one-on-one conversation with Ozone on the beach. Ozone got frustrated with all the Hollywood chit-chatter and took Kelly to a dance cypher where a handicapped dancer performed what I would call a series of perfect power moves. “You see his face?”, That is dancing, Kelly!

This scene is the heart of the movie and shows viewers exactly why these dancers do it. Not for fame, glitz or money but for love.

You see guys, that is it, this was what was missing from Electric Boogaloo. Besides Turbo breaking his leg, there was no payoff or tension. Electric Boogaloo just felt like a watered-down version and realizing it was released a measly 7 months after the original buttresses my point.

While I still love Electric Boogaloo for what it is, I just can’t ignore the obvious cash grab of a flick it was. Comparing the two, it is glaring, that the original had a darker aesthetic while Electric Boogaloo was extremely bright-just look at the colour coordination and cinematographic style. It was bigger but unfortunately not better.

To cut a long story short, Breakin’ was a product of its time when everyone wanted to cash in on the growing trend called hip-hop. It’s quite ironic that I became a DJ fully immersed in Breakin’ culture, having played at several Redbull-sponsored Battle Of The Year competitions, Redbull BC One, Afrobreak in Ghana and the All-Star Battle in Togo. Who would have Thunk it?

I also have a 2 part B-Boy break music series called B-Boy Zilla.