Man, it really sucks when some stiff old white dude shows up with his posse of greedy corporate goons and starts saying things like, "I'll finish you, your friends, and your whole damn neighborhood!" Before you know it, there's a convoy of bulldozers rolling up to the doorstep of your breakdance bungalow, threatening your lifestyle, your crew, and everything you love, i.e. leg warmers, Jheri curls, and red leather jackets.
For Kelly, Ozone, and Turbo of the 1984 dance epic Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, this meant war. Pop and lock to free the hood this Thursday when the movie screens at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Flickin' Summer Movie Series.
See the jump for YouTube gold and event deets.
Like the movie's rap theme states: "This time there is an enemy/So they must unite/Because to save what you believe in/Sometimes you must fight!" Of course when they say "fight," they actually mean "dance so furiously that the evils of capitalism will wither and die like Rupert Murdoch's testicles."
Typically, you wouldn't figure breakdancing movies for ideal acid trip entertainment. But Turbo's solo in Breakin' 2 is totally bonkers. To start, you've got the kaleidoscopic costume design: electric orange parachute pants, belly tank, and bandana accessorized with an old lady's belt and dangly gold earrings. Then you've got a set that looks like it was painted by a gaggle of deeply psychotic Merry Pranksters. And finally, dude starts creeping, crawling, and moonwalking up the walls like a fucking human fly.
Last, we have a cameo by Ice-T before he became a "Cop Killer." Predictably, he is playing a "rapper." Look close and you'll see him hanging out in the background. He's the guy in a maroon track suit with the jheri curl hanging out the back of his cap. In his 1994 book The Ice Opinion, T panned both Breakin' 1 and 2 as wack-ass pieces of shit. But no doubt he cashed the checks. Somebody had to pay for all that rearranging cream and setting solution.
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo screens tomorrow July 22 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, 174 E. Flagler St., Miami. The boogaloo begins at 6 p.m. and tickets cost $10. Call 305-374-2444 or visit gusmancenter.org.
