Kickin It Old Skool (2007)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Harvey Glazer

Writers (WGA):

Trace Slobotkin (written by) and
Josh Siegal (written by) ...

Release Date:

27 April 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Breakdancing isn't dead. It's been in a coma.

Plot:

A young breakdancer hits his head during a talent show and slips into a coma for twenty years. Waking up in 2006, he looks to revive his and his team's career with the help of his girlfriend and his parents. |

Plot Keywords:

Dance Floor | Coma | Friend | Accident | Dance Competition

Cast

Jamie Kennedy	...	Justin Schumacher
Maria Menounos	...	Jennifer
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.	...	Darnell
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Kip
Christopher McDonald	...	Marty Schumacher
Debra Jo Rupp	...	Sylvia Schumacher
Bobby Lee	...	Aki
Aris Alvarado	...	Hector
Alan Ruck	...	Dr. Fry
Jesse Brown	...	Cole (as Jesse 'Casper' Brown)
Stuart Stone	...	DJ Tanner
Vivica A. Fox	...	Roxanne
David Hasselhoff	...	Himself
Emmanuel Lewis	...	Himself
Alexander Calvert	...	Young Justin

Also Known As:

Kicking It Old School (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content and language. (edited for re-rating)

Runtime:

USA:108 min | USA:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #42992)

Filming Locations:

Tsawwassen, Delta, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Jizzy Entertainment

Trivia:

In Justin's hospital room you can see he is hooked up to a flux capacitor, which in Back to the Future (1985) is what makes time travel possible.

Goofs:

Plot holes: The contest bracket is set up for 8 teams, but there are 9 teams show: 1) Funky Fresh Boys, 2) Iced Cole Crew, 3) Krump Kings, 4) Pink Sushi, 5) Wack Attack, 6) Mizfits, 7) unnamed team in blue/yellow with 'luchadore' style masks, 8) unnamed team in red/grey jogging suits and hats (Run DMC style), 9) unnamed team seen dancing solo in the middle of the stage (no real conformity to their clothing style).

Quotes:

Aki: [Darnell's invention of the Jewbix 's cube, a Jewish version of the Rubik's cube. Aki is reading off the pictures on the cube] A Jewish star, a money sign, a menorah, and a d... Dude you put a dick on the Jewbix's cube?
[Hector and Aki laugh]
Darnell Jackson: [mad at Aki and Hector for laughing] It's a circumcised penis. The only other real Jewish thing I could think of...

Movie Connections:

References "Miami Vice" (1984)

Soundtrack:

Smooth

What Should Be a Waste of Time Mysteriously Holds My Attention

Justin was a break-dancing child of the 1980s. At least, until he flipped off the stage and sent himself into a coma. Waking up twenty years later, he's a child trapped in a man's body and still has the urge to break dance. So what does he do? What anyone would do -- form the team together again to win the local break dancing contest and pay his parents back for all his medical bills.

This film comes from first-time director Harvey Glazer. For most people, this gives hi ma clean slate. For me, I look at his past endeavors as a producer and cringe. From 2006 through 2007, he produced a variety of awful straight-to-video horror films, which I've actually seen simply because Anchor Bay sends me copies for free. "The Mad", "Ultimate Killing Machine" and "Bottom Feeder" are not films you should necessarily be proud to have on your resume. This one, however, is an exception.

I was at a party, and a Blockbuster employee named Jared brought it over, more or less as a joke to have something playing in the background. And I was like "Jamie Kennedy? Straight to video? Oh no!" But before long, I found myself distracted from my Pabst Blue Ribbon and game of cards and actively watching this one. The 1980s references were cleverly woven in, and the style of humor was low-brow without being tasteless. It was right up my alley.

I'm not sure who this film is catering to, besides me. I suppose people in their mid-20s to mid-30s. The bulk of the humor relies on understanding a lot of the references and quotations used, which the younger crowd might not get. Some of them are very subtle. The rest of the humor might turn off the older crowd, because it has a youth focus. Urination, juvenile behavior and the like. Hey, I liked it... but would my mom? Probably not.

So if you're in your twenties and want a flashback, this might be something for you. Rubik's cubes, DJ Tanner, He-Man and Rockem Sockem robots are the name of the game here. If this sounds like something you'll appreciate, dig in. And, if that doesn't sell you: there's a special appearance by David Hasselhoff and KITT. What more do you want?