B Movie Breakdown - Episode 32: Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
When the goinâ gets tough, the tough get dancinâ! This week weâve gone back to 1984 to tangle with one of the most infamous bad sequels of all time, Breakinâ 2: Electric Boogaloo. Considering that this sequel was made and released the same year as the original, itâs a wonder it didnât turn out even worse than it did. Breakers Kelly, Ozone and Turbo (or, as I like to call them, Special K, Shabba-Doo and Boogaloo Shrimp) are back with a mission, except when theyâre starting riot level flash mobs and dancing aimlessly from scene to scene. Rich kid Kelly would rather keep living off of her parentsâ dime and half-heartedly attending dance auditions until she discovers her hood friendsâ community center will be demolished unless they can raise $200,000 to stave off a murderous land developer. After trying their best to make the money with a car wash, lemonade stand, face painting, balloons and star maps, they decide to throw all their chips on a âstreet showâ that they barely plan or rehearse because theyâre too busy dancing with a sex doll, defying the laws of physics and going to dinner half naked with Kellyâs parents. The gangâs show is successful, mostly due to an appearance by Ice-T as DJ âRap Talker,â and Turbo wins himself a bootleg Michael Jackson outfit, a closeted girlfriend and a broken leg that manages to heal in a day or two. God bless the 80s.
Because weâve had so much fun with this weekâs 80s bomb, weâve decide zap ourselves back a couple more years to check out Scott Baioâs first film role in 1982âs Zapped! Supposedly a parody of Carrie, but with elements of The Excorcist, Star Trek and Taxi Driver as well, a teen botches a high school lab experiment which leaves him with telekinetic powers. Rather than use his newfound powers for good, he lets his friend convince him to use them for borderline rape instead, flipping up girlsâ skirts and ripping open their blouses. If Scott Baio wasnât already a sex addict by this point, Iâm sure he was afterwards. This wonderful film is available for streaming on Netflix, but to whet your appetite, check out the trailer for it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-lLsewsAuk
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Let's get one thing straight...If you haven't lived the Hip-Hop lifestyle, you cannot properly judge this movie in ANY negative manner. I was a teenager in the mid 80's and danced (electric boogie) in the streets and roller rinks of NY for 4+ years. I went to LA when I was 16 and battled other dancers on Venice Beach, which was the MECCA of electric boogie street dancers.
This movie was the best of it's kind!! Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers was arguably the best in the craft and shined in both this movie and it's predecessor. Don't view this movie looking for a wealth of incredible acting, but do watch it for some amazing street dancing and a very likeable cast with a good storyline. I LOVED this movie and still do. Every time I see it, I'm transported from my office back to my carefree teenage years, where my biggest problems were what to wear when dancing and what music I was going to boogie to!
I'm popping and throwing waves as I write......

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Nothing in the world can prepare you for Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo. No description does it justice, no warning truly gives you an idea of what you are in store for. Few movies are as bizarre, yet oddly compelling at the same time.
Because one movie wasn't enough to contain these people; Breakin 2 picks up where the first movie picks off. Or so I assume, I haven't seen Breakin, but the three main characters Kelly (Lucinda Dickey), Ozone (Adolfo Quinones) and Turbo (Michael Chambers) are the same. In this installment the trio try to save a youth center named Miracles from the clutches of evil (read: white and unhip) government bigwigs who want to bulldoze the unsafe building and make way for a new shopping center.
It's fortunate that the trio live in an alternate universe in which breakdancing can solve all of society's ills. No exaggeration here; over the course of ninety-four boogie filled minutes, dancing stops bulldozers, pays bills, ends gang wars, and even cures the ill and the infirm (One person bounds out of the wheelchair in jubilation; apparently they simply forgot they could walk). There is so much dancing in this movie that it frequently appears that the plot is intruding on it, and not the other way around. These are people who work a hard day's living dancing then go home and blow off some steam by, what else, dancing.
This isn't a poorly made movie in the traditional sense; it isn't full of continuity holes or bad special effects. For all its silliness, it probably succeeds in exactly the way it wanted to; as a movie about people who love breakdancing so much they'd rather do that than say, eat, sleep, converse, or share meaningful human contact. More than fifteen years later, it's terribly quaint, and hilariously dated. But it has a city-wide dance party, a hospital-wide dance party, a dance-filled climax (a shock, I know) and two performances by Ice-T. What more do you want? Do yourself a favor and rent this movie. By the end, you'll be dancing too.

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You have just finished watching Breakin' - and feel like you want to go out onto the streets and find a group of people to dance with, then you realise that your about 20 years too late and the only gangs hanging around your neighbourhood are not interested in dancing.
Your spirits drop, realising that you can never get back your youth..
But then you remember, you also own Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo and you get back on your sofa and spend another couple of hours with a friendly group of Break Dancers who only want to support their local amenities.. They don't use violence (apart from perhaps some suggestive popping' and lockin' moves), they don't use guns or drugs and they even get their rival street gang to kiss and make up with them in order to protect their hood from the City Suits.
Where else could you get a story line like that? Take it for what it is - great music, great dancing, great fun!

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Somehow I never managed to see the original Breakin but from what I've read it's not necessary. I saw this movie as a child in the 80's and I was enthralled. I guess it's my dancer nature that drew me in. I watched this movie for years seriously. Today, however, it's extremely funny. It's so cheesy that I question how I sat thru it once. Then the breakdancing resumes and I remember why. Even though the film is a comedy to me now, I recommend it to anyone who can still relate to the eighties objectively.

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Nothing changed here. Story's still the same. People are still break dancing! This sequel was made within not even a full year after the original. Gotta love the 80's.

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No, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo will never win any awards. It'll never even come close, but for some strange reason I still enjoy it. I'd much rather spend a night watching it than some pretentious Hollywood garbage like Armegeddon. Let's see if I can find a few reasons why.
This movie is sort of like a Scooby Doo episode-you know the plot already, and can predict it easily. Oh no! The youth center's in trouble! How much you wanna bet that the Breakin' kids will come through with the money just in time to save it? How much you wanna bet that'll involve an inordinate number of spontaneous dance scenes, and supa-dope fly moves? Yep, you might be able to guess the answers.
It's just fun to see these people play it out, because they're obviously having fun. Yeah, even the straights like Kelly's parents finally get on the train. And watch for the scene in the hospital. Yes, the miraculous power of break dancing can bring your loved ones back from the dead!
Oh well, maybe I can't defend this intellectually, but this movie's still great. Watch it, and just try to do the robot as well as Turbo or Ozone..just be careful, or you might actually have fun too..

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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.

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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!

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Yeah the film is predictable, poorly acted, & the clothes.. well! yet this is exactly was the 80's was all about & why it was the best decade ever. I mean tell me, who didn't enjoy police academy, porkies, those silly troma films & all those ridiculous teenage slasher movies. & then we have the transformers, he-man, visionaries & the best cartoon ever made the THUNDERCATS.. HO! My point is basically the 80's was about having fun & was represented by film, TV & especially music.. gap band, shalamar, earth, wind & fire.. kool & the gang, & of course the greatest of them all MICHAEL JACKSON (yo' all know!) So in essence remember this film, & it should make you smile & remember just how great life is & how great it was growing up & living through all those silly movies & knight rider, street hawk, tj hooker, automan, airwolf etc & you all remember leg warmers & fluorescent socks & especially wearing shorts on top of your trousers (pants lol) & Mr T long live the A-Team & viva the 80's

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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!

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Let me start by acknowledging that Breakin 2 (the sequel to 1984's Breakin, which was a box office hit) IS NOT a great movie. The acting is weak, the plot very 'Andy Hardy,' and the dialog, well let just say, it wouldn't have been any better if Golan/Globus would have gotten Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep to star in this film. That being said, let me now state that Breakin 2 IS NOT a 'bad movie' either. It is what it is, mindless entertainment. The dancing, while not as riveting as it's predecessor, is enjoyable. The clothes (remember this is the 80's), well they're a laugh in themselves. The cast are all attractive (Lucinda Dickey looks hot as hell in this one, and check out Sonny Bono's sexy ex-wife Susie Coelho playing Kelly's rival).
The thinly written plot of Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo takes up where Breakin left off. Kelly (Dickey), Ozone (Aldolfo 'Shabba Doo' Quinones) and Turbo (the phenomenal Michael 'Boogalo Shrimp' Chambers have finished up what appears to have been a short run of their musical 'Street People.' Having gone their separate ways, Kelly is finding life in the chorus line a dead end. Unlike Ozone and Turbo, Kelly is not a product of the streets, and must also deal with her stereotypically written 'rich parents,' who want her to stop wasting her life dancing and go to Princeton. Needing a break from the lifestyle of the rich and famous, she goes to visit her 'boyz in the hood' buds Ozone and Turbo, who seem to have found a better niche in life, teaching kids at a community center in East Los Angeles.
Enter bad guy real estate developer Mr. Douglas (character actor Peter MacLean), who wants to buy the land where the rec center sits and build a shopping mall. Kelly rejoins her ghetto comrades to stand against Douglas, and the city, who holds the lease on the building. The city does gives the trio one month to raise $150,000 to get the old center up to building standards or lose it to Douglas. How will they do it? How else, by putting on a street carnival (I told you this wasn't Pulp Fiction). Sub-plots include Kelly's racist parent attempting to bribe her by offering to bail out the center(only if she denounces her street friends and goes to college), and Kelly and Ozone's phantom romance (they never seriously kiss or get romantic in either film, which was the norm for interracial affairs in the 80's).
As stated earlier, where this movie shines is in the dancing. Ozone's rooftop number and Turbo's dancing on the ceiling are very enjoyable. The soundtrack wasn't as ripping as the original, but it's listenable without being annoying. The one other redeemable trait of Breakin 2, is it's attempt (no matter how lame an attempt) to portray a part of American culture that few people outside of major cities such as Los Angeles and New York knew anything about. In the eighties, you could count the number of minority themed films on one hand, so given it's very low budget, Breakin 2 at least served up a decent laugh and some head bobbin 'make you smile' hoofin'.
Bottom line, if you're looking for Academy Award performances, solid acting, excellent writing and a thought provoking storyline, AVOID THIS FILM. However, if you want a look (albeit a somewhat watered down, white bread look) at a phenomenal eighties American fad called Break Dancing, check it out and enjoy the music and the dancing. That's all Golan/Globus was trying to make, and that's all this movie has to offer.

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I think that Breakin' 2 is one of the best movies ever. It seems that most of the movies of this generation have in a sense reverted back to the plot of the older movies. The characters have great individuality and are as natural as the common man, not acting with skills that make the character irrelevant to the audience. We all can relate to the situation that has taken place as the lives of children are disrupted by commercial businessmen. I love the dancing and the choreography of this movie. I am reminded of dancing like this as a kid just wanting and waiting to have fun or an opportunity to learn new dances. This movie is a well-rounded film that shares with the audience a sense of great dancing and a plot that is heartwarming. It has a great innocence, bringing back memories of yesterday when it wasn't strange to be happy and stand up for what you believe. This movie has everything that a great picture should have such as romance, comedy, drama, and morality.

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Breakin 2 its a wonderful movie with wonderful purpose to it, were kids can be kids and music and dance were once fun and people get long people don't get long. and people try to take things over and shut them down cause they got money and they think the kids don't which is crap and bull. they shouldn't be so mean its not right to brag your rich when there are people who aren't or have no money period just not right. this movie shows u that and it rocks 10 of 10 it is just right for kids and adults to watch together so enjoy it. ozone and turbo are great to kelly all the gang it is very good movie for its time. hopefully it will be around for my son to watch it when he gets older for he can enjoy it to like i did when i was younger and now as I'm older i hope he can enjoy it.

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I remember being three years old the first time I saw this movie. Yeah the plot just like the furst one is a bit corny. But the soundtrack and chorgraphy are very top notch. All the actors play their roles good, but the high is when Shrimp dances on the celling to Mark Scott's I Don't Wanna Come Down. Check it out for Notsgala.

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The Electric Boogaloo is basically the second half of a three hour film. I guess the producers decided that the audience wasn't going to sit through a three hour musical about break dancing. So they did the next best thing. Made it into two movies. Two movies equals twice the money (Man, those Cannon boys wanted to squeeze every last dollar and cent from the quickly fading break dancing craze). Well, the movie is even cornier and cheesier than the first and just as bad. Look on the bright side, you get Lucinda Dickey!! I guess that's a plus for this other wise monotonous cheese fest.
Recommended for 80's nostalgia fans.
C+

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First off, I am a huge fan of booga-loo shrimp and also of adolfo shabba-do. I especially loved the first one when he danced with that rag on a string. I saw the first breakin in the theatre when it first came out and I almost had a hernia it was so good.
By the way, I have top secret, hush-hush, information that a certain movie company WAS planning on a big sequel to Breakin 2 to celebrate the millenia. It was going to be called 'Breakin 3: Breakin Free!' In pt. 3, Shrimp and Adolfo would be sent to prison for crimes they DID NOT COMMIT. They gather a posse, bust outta prison, and clear their names with nothing more than their street smarts and breakin moves to aid them. Meanwhile, outside, their white gal-pal rallies all the poppers and lockers in their 'hood' and they have a big block party with fireworks and barbecue and parachute pants and enough funky fresh moves to make you wanna start dancin on the ceilin.
I think it would have been great and I would have even gone to the theatre to see it.,

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I remember 4 years ago while in the air force working night shift, I and another 12 or so soldiers sitting in the crew room watching channel bravo at about 2 am We were treated to this movie and I have never ever laughed so much in my entire life, we put national security in jeopardy because there were people actually crying with laughter and rolling around on the floor.
To remember now, the very beginning scene where all those dildo's are dancing around in the street spinning on car bonnets etc.
Most funny movie ever, will never be triumphed.
Hey, a friend of mine said that Jean-Claude Van Damme appeared in this movie, is that right ?

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Breakdancing is easily the funniest fad of the last 50 fifty years. There are so many hilarious moments in this movie, you will not regret renting it.
The fashion is audacious. The attitudes are ridiculous. The music is silly. But above all, it's entertaining. It's a high-budget visual spectacle that merits attention.
It's also a political piece. It's about rich versus poor, haves versus have-nots. Ultimately it's a testament to the will of the human spirit, be it poppin', rockin', or breakin'.
Boogaloo Shrimp is an awesome character. So is Shabadoo, and don't forget Sugarfoot. Ice T proves that he was a sell-out as way back as 1984.

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For some reason, I remember this movie more than the original 'Breakin' movie. Not saying that this is a bad thing, I just think that 'Electric Boogaloo' was on TV more than the original. Some say that this was a disappointing sequel to the original. For me, it's another '80s classic. Both movies were so different, even though the characters were the same. The plot of 'Electric Boogaloo' is almost like Golan & Globus just watched a copy of 'Roller Boogie'. Instead of a roller rink being threatened to be closed, in 'Breakin 2', it's a community center. Instead of Linda Blair playing the rich kid, Lucinda Dickey takes on this role and makes it her own. Of course, this movie would not be complete without Turbo & Ozone and their slammin' dance moves. One thing that really sets this movie apart from the original, is that it packs a lot more energy. There seems to be more breakdancing, a large group choreography in this one. It makes for a very entertaining 1h30m, and it's a movie that you can watch over & over again. There are new VHS tapes around of both movies, so if you get a chance to get one, I don't think you will be disappointed. It's another valued addition to my video collection, and I am sure it will be yours too.

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This is the film dreams are made of. Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo is non-stop entertainment with maximum jammage. I love this movie, it seems that cheesiness knows no bounds. Every ten minutes there is a relentless dance sequence that reminds me of a John Woo action sequence, it is both well choreographed and ridiculously crazy. The story is so standard and formulaic there is almost no need to worry about what the hell is going on except for another boogaloo around the corner. The performances by the actors are just stomach-churningly hilarious and whenever Shabba-Do randomly zips up his pants you can't help but roll on the floor in hysterics. As the films progress it slowly loses it's grip on reality which is shown in a dancing on the ceiling breakdown, a crazy hospital number, and the character's willingness to die for a community center! Costume changes are made every 5 minutes or so and boy are there a lot of costumes, I find it very hard to believe that some point in time this was considered cool. Or was it? Anyways if you are looking for the most relentless cheese this side of King Solomon's Mines (1985) then get down with the boogaloo, Electric Boogaloo that is.

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Let's start with the obvious. This is a sequel, so already you go into it with diminished expectations. But I read Ebert's review and thought it was actually going to be good. Nope. Here are a few of the most annoying things about this movie.
1) Break dancing gets very tiresome after a while. It's really not that many different moves. Yes, it looks hard to do, but it also can be hard to watch after so many similar routines.
2) Kelly is not very likable. Given that she's the main character, that's a problem.
3) Why is there a secret Fight Club hidden inside the break dancing Miracles palace?
4) Why was Turbo on the ceiling redoing a routine from a Fred Astaire movie?
5) If they had just taken the father's deal Kelly could have gone to Paris and had a successful career, and they would have gotten the money they needed to save 'Miracles'.
6) Why are they spending $200,000 to fix a building owned by the City? Why don't they buy their own building? Then the rich dude can open his mall and there will be jobs for these broken break dancers to take when they decide they want to eat some day.
7) Why have they kidnapped Cindy Brady and forced her to join their break dancing cult?
8) In the credits they mention a Michael Jackson impersonator, who apparently was so bad I didn't even notice that there was one. Well played.
9) The rival gang is actually much cooler than the break dancing gang. They have a car. They have a cool underpass that no one is going to steal by building a mall. When asked to help with the fundraiser they defy all expectation and say no. They remain true rivals.
10) The mime.

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I've never seen Breakin' 2 until last night.
Sure, I've been one of the masses that adds the sub-title to every potential sequel in the making, but I never actually sat down and watched it until they had a midnight screening of it last night.
I'm now one of the converted.
Before I go into this, I've never seen Breakin' 1, but I don't think this really matters, nor did I get lost in a plot of complex twists and turns. When a movie starts in a city-wide dance party that even city officials get into, you know this is going to be no ordinary movie.
The plot's non-important. After leaving the theater, I realized there are easily a dozen clichéd plot lines, from saving a community center, upper-class girl hanging out with street kids, the disapproving father, the evil land developer, the endearing precocious children, the dramatic plot turn that requires the gang to visit the hospital, rival gangs.. it's all here. The Book of Clichés is referenced to the fullest.
But I really don't care.
The dancing 20+ years later is still incredibly impressive, the music is catchy, and the attitude of the film is so optimistically cheery, that it makes it all somehow work. People in the theater were clapping, laughing, cheering, moving to the music, and the audience enthusiasm made it that much more fun. Throw an Ice-T cameo into the mix, and it's the finest grade retro-cheese you can get. I don't think it's possible to watch this movie, and not be in a good mood by the time it's over.
And without a doubt, Turbo's 'rotating room' dance scene is as good and as memorable as it gets.
Not everyone's going to get the chance to see it on the big-screen like I had the chance to last night. But it's worth a watch with a group of friends. It's not going to change the face of American cinema, it's always going to be rooted within '80's pop-culture, and it's deliriously campy.
But there's that little part of me that was just endeared by the silliness. And I watch it again for precisely that reason.
Recommended for any fan of the '80's or for those who appreciate old-school dance moves.

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This is a very likable movie. Although the first one was better, and grossed 30 million more, I still think it is a good movie. The acting and dancing are improved, but the soundtrack is 1 star weaker than that of the first one. Here is my rubric: Dancing: 10/10 Soundtrack: 9/10 Costumes: 10/10 Acting: 8.5/10 Storyline: 9/10 Feel Good Average: 10/10 Overall Style: 9.5/10 My Rating: 9/10

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A movie about 80s kids break dancing to raise money. What can possibly be better other than the movie 'Beware: Children At Play' or of course 'Footloose'. In other words, just check out this movie cause it is great and will make you try to do the robot and spin on your back on the floor. Don't worry, we all do it.

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I know i may be pushing it, but is it possible to bring you into 2020. Boogaloo?

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