Movie Name: Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (aka Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo)
Director: Sam Firstenberg
Producer: Yoram Globus, Menahem Golan, Pieter Jan Brugge, Shirts Stanley
Starring: Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo "Shabba Doo" Quinones, Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers
Release Date: December 21, 1984
Box Office: $15.1 million
Introduction
So here is the sequel to the first Breakin' movie. The same cast of characters are back. I saw this movie years after its release. I was not even aware that there was a second movie in this series. I remember seeing it at the video store back in the day and thought it might be interesting. let us see if it is as good as the first instalment.
Story / Plot
So this movie came out only 9 months after the original. I guess they really wanted to bank on the breakdance wave and thought that it would be a short lived fad.
The story is not that much better than the first. In fact, it seems to be a little lack lustre. Bascially, our 3 friends Kelly (Lucinda Dickey), Ozone (Shabba Doo) and Turbo (Boogaloo Shrimp) use breakdancing to try to stop the demolition of a recreation / community centre. There is a ruthless business man that wants to destroy the centre and build a new mall.
From what I remember, even the rival gangs come together in order to fight the ruthless business man and construction crew.
Similar themes rise in the film in comparison to the first movie. .Once again, they recycle the, people do not like breakdancers angle. This time instead of it being Kelly's teacher, it is Kelly's parents that do not approve. I guess this was to bring some tension to the plot but it falls short and feels recycled from the first film.
Turbo, on the other hand has a crush on a Latina girl. He is shy and not sure how to talk to her. However, he ends up with her in the end.
Soundtrack
I will be honest, I have not listened to the soundtrack very many times. I think it never really stuck with me unlike the first one.
Track Listings
"Electric Boogaloo" – Ollie & Jerry
"Radiotron" – Firefox
"Din Daa Daa" – George Kranz
"When I.C.U." – Ollie & Jerry
"Gotta Have the Money" – Steve Donn
"Believe in the Beat" – Carol Lynn Townes
"Set it out" – Midway
"I Don't Wanna Come Down" – Mark Scott
"Stylin' Profilin'" – Firefox
"Oye Mamacita" – Rags & Riches
The only chart topper really on this album was Electric Boogaloo, which according to Billboard reached number 45 on the charts. it is not exactly screaming success.
Electric Boogaloo - Ollie & Jerry
Bottomline
So the verdict, it is not that great. even the breakdancing is mediocre at best. I think they tried too much to copy certain things from the first movie. They wanted to strike gold twice and it just did not happen.
Not sure why the movie was released so soon after the first movie. They could have let it go until the spring after at least. They released this right at Christmas which is not great timing. They could have taken the time to write some better material.
I did not enjoy this movie as much as the first one. There was not enough here to keep me interested and they could have really done something better with the plot. Although the plot in the first movie, was simple, it worked, because it was believable. The second one is just not believable and seems very Hollywood with a happy ending (insert dirty joke here).
Stay away from this movie unless you want to see a very young Ice-T and some mediocre breakdancing moves.
What do you think? Do you remember this gem?
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