Rich people scoffing? Poor people popping? Talk to me, people! Let’s go!
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) Electric Boogaloo as a subtitle has entered the popular lexicon as a generic silly name for a sequel. Some might call it “a clichéd phrase in which one or more words can be substituted to express a similar idea in a different context, often to humorous or sarcastic effect” … that is the definition of what (non-weather related) word?
2) When the film came out Ebert gave the film three out of four stars. There was also at least one other critic of New York Press who gave it a good review. As a matter of fact he often gives good films bad reviews (The Wild Robot) and bad films good reviews (Rebel Moon Part 1). Who is this famously contrarian critic?
3) Sam Firstenberg directed Lucinda Dickey in both Breakin’ 2 and Ninja III: The Domination. As a matter of fact he also directed the second in the Ninja series (Revenge of the Ninja) and the first two films in what martial arts series starring Michael Dudikoff?
4) Both films would be produced by Golan-Globus Cannon. The last film produced under that banner was a Jean-Claude Van Damme which would be followed by two sequels, the third film with the subtitle The Recycler. What is this sci-fi production?
5) The electric boogaloo is an actual dance. It is related to popping which Shabba Doo specialized in. It is best known for the dance move you might remember from a Volkswagen commercial featuring Tony Hale. What is that dance?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: On February 6, 1990, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo played on Cinemax at 6PM. A very very famous musical played after, and then after that:
Boogaloo Shrimp? Shabba Doo? Talk to me, people. Let’s go!
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) During an episode of At the Movies Breakin’ is reviewed alongside Hardbodies, Sugar Can Alley, and a 1984 Stephen King adaptation starring David Keith, Martin Sheen, and George C. Scott … fine there is an actual star of the film, but I’m not giving you her name. What is the film?
2) Ice-T is in the film. Looking at his discography outside of the rap charts he really never charted on the Top 100 outside of two songs. One is called New Jack Hustler which was for the soundtrack of New Jack City naturally. The other is a song for the soundtrack of what film directed by Dennis Hopper, and starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall as police officers?
3) The director, Joel Silberg, wasn’t done with dance films after this. He also made a film about a dance style from Brazil that is often called the Forbidden Dance. What is the name of the film and dance style.
4) This is considered one of the last financially profitable films ever produced by Cannon, partially due to the dissolution of a deal Cannon had with MGM for release. The dissolution came about due to the refusal of MGM to release what X-rated John Derek film starring Bo Derek?
5) Breakdancing consists of four main types of movies. Toprock (general standing footwork, often akin to dancing), downrock (footwork with hands and feet, e.g. the 6-step), power moves (acrobatic or athletic movements using speed and momentum), and what?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: On March 13, 1998, Breakin’ played for the first time on VH1. Meanwhile on Cinemax:
This is a major Sci Fi trivia, you better know this film.
“What?” Samantha says, frustrated that even her totally rizz new entry in the Holly Ween series didn’t get through to Jamie. “So I just need to dream again and then I’ll make sure to listen… like in your book,” Jamie says, adding the last part as he had forgotten that he was supposed to have already figured this out because of the book. But how could he be expected to interpret the hidden themes of a book when it was so ill and dope? “Alright,” Samantha starts again, “are you listening?” Jamie nods, staring intently. “I am dying.” Jamie gasps. He asks all the obvious questions. How? When? What? “It just happened,” Samantha says sadly, tears in her eyes. “I first noticed it in my elbow three years ago while practicing the shot put. But it ended up being more serious than that. It’s hard to explain. Just complex and vague really, but I assure you it’s terminal.” Jamie is blubbering at this point. “Who? Why? Where?” He gets out, not sure what else to say. Samantha hugs him, hoping he now understands why she ran. Why she ran so far away. All night and day… but she couldn’t get away. Not from this love. Jamie suddenly pulls away. “No!” he yells, “no, I don’t believe it. I’m going to punch those doctors that made you believe this. Just really punch them hard in the arm. Or maybe if we just get a second opinion then it’ll turn out they were wrong.” At this his face crumples and he begins to blubber again. Once he finishes he looks up, hope and love shining in his eyes. “What now?” he asks, accepting his new reality. Patrick looks on and his heart breaks for them. Kyle’s heart is breaking too. That’s right! We are pulling double dancin’ duty by watching both Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. These are classics of the genre, so there’s not much more to say. As for the Friend, we went full nostalgia for this one and did Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. Boy, I haven’t seen that since I was a little kid. Should be fun. Let’s go!
Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984) – BMeTric: 35.2; Notability: 49
StreetCreditReport.com –BMeTric: top 5.6%; Notability: top 2.0%; Rotten Tomatoes: top 11.0%; Higher BMeT: Supergirl, Ghoulies, The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Rhinestone, Bolero, Cannonball Run II, Children of the Corn, Missing in Action, Sheena, City Heat, C.H.U.D., Conan the Destroyer, The Ice Pirates, Exterminator 2; Higher Notability: Dune, Cannonball Run II, City Heat, Supergirl, Firstborn; Lower RT: The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Bolero, Exterminator 2, Reckless, Thief of Hearts, Crackers, Until September, Ghoulies, Blame It on Rio, Supergirl, Sheena, Cannonball Run II, Windy City, The Ice Pirates, American Dreamer, Missing in Action, Rhinestone, Tank, Mutant, Purple Hearts, and 4 more; Notes: Yeah, I actually kind of figured. This played 57 times on television. I genuinely thought that the thing about the two films was that the sequel is more ridiculous so it would get more play on television in the end. We did the run down for 1984 (wait, these films came out the same year for real?), so I’ll leave it by mentioning that The Ewok Adventure played 36 times on television which is both hilarious and expected (Disney needed to get their money’s worth in the end). Battle for Endor also played around the same amount, 34 times.
RogerEbert.com – 3 stars – Movie musicals used to be allowed to be goofy and lightweight, but in recent years they’ve turned into ponderous, overbudgeted artifacts that take themselves so seriously you feel guilty if you’re having a good time. Remember all the self-importance of “Annie“? That’s why a modest, cheerful little movie like “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” is so refreshing. Here is a movie that wants nothing more than to allow some high-spirited kids to sing and dance their way through a silly plot just long enough to make us grin.
(Wowza, now that is a review. I would say he ain’t wrong … but he’s kind of wrong. There are moments of belief suspension that really don’t work in this film and I think that is what sinks it. Once Turbo can be cured by the power of dance the entire film loses a bit of its tension since, presumably, they could also use dance to magic money out of thin air if they wanted to.)
(Ooooo that Cannon logo just kills it everytime. … Is Ice-T good? His rap in this trailer is insane. And haha the eeeeeeevil land developer is so hilarious looking. The whitest oldest richest looking guy in the universe. Wait … huh, the title is listed as Breakin’ 2 is Electric Boogaloo in the trailer. That is something to follow up on.)
Directors – Sam Firstenberg – ( Known For: American Ninja 2: The Confrontation; Revenge of the Ninja; Ninja III: The Domination; Avenging Force; American Samurai; Cyborg Cop; Delta Force 3: The Killing Game; Cyborg Cop II; The Alternate; Quicksand; Motel Blue; Riverbend; Future BMT: American Ninja; BMT: Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: Was a big Dudikoff guy way back in the day. He really dabbled in it all though, e.g. Cyborg Cop II with David Bradley. Definitely a director we should be looking to for friends.)
Julie Reichert – ( BMT: Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: Once again, it begs the question as to why they didn’t get actual screenwriters for these movies. They replaced the original three people with … another person who never wrote a screenplay.)
Actors – Lucinda Dickey – ( Known For: Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films; Ninja III: The Domination; Cheerleader Camp; BMT: Grease 2; Breakin’; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: Her mother was a long time dance instructor in Kansas and that is where she got her start.)
Adolfo Quinones – ( Known For: Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films; Lambada; BMT: Tango & Cash; Breakin’; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: We already went over this, his stage name was Shabba-Doo. Legitimately he is considered one of the forefathers of hip-hop dancing, an original Locker, and was an Original Soul Train Gang member.)
Michael Chambers – ( Notes: By all accounts his fashion was what influenced the 80s Michael Jackson style as he was his dance coach for 8 years.. Which is amazing, because we go from Boogaloo Shrimp -> Michael Jackson -> Corey Feldman in Dream a Little Dream. A direct line!)
Budget/Gross – $3 million / Domestic: $15,101,131 (Worldwide: $15,101,131)
(That’s more like it. It does seem like they gave it a bit more budget and got half the return and decided that they didn’t need to push their luck further. I do think, as Ebert says, this was influential by showing what a full blown “dance” movie could be, but also it shows how you do still need a plot.)
(Oh my gawd, it’s even better. This is an A+++++++++. Are there more plusses I can add to it. My word. It’s beautiful in the most ironic way possible.)
Tagline(s) – Believe in the beat that’s on the street, it’s hoppin’ and poppin’, they’re breakin’ and lockin’. (F)
(Nah. This isn’t working for me anymore.)
Keyword(s) – 1983-1991
Top 10: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Back to the Future (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Die Hard (1988), The Terminator (1984), Scarface (1983), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Future BMT: 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 72.5 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 67.9 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 61.1 Staying Alive (1983), 59.1 Suburban Commando (1991), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 57.6 Ghost Dad (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 55.1 Who’s That Girl (1987), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 53.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990), 52.5 Johnny Be Good (1988), 52.5 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.4 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), 49.3 King Solomon’s Mines (1985), 48.7 Hercules (1983), 48.6 Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
BMT: Jaws: The Revenge (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Troll 2 (1990), Jaws 3-D (1983), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Going Overboard (1989), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Mac and Me (1988), Caddyshack II (1988), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Howard the Duck (1986), Supergirl (1984), Cool as Ice (1991), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987), Leonard Part 6 (1987), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Superman III (1983), Poltergeist III (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), Wild Orchid (1989), …
Best Options (franchise): 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 67.9 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 52.5 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.4 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), …
(Again, I don’t know why, but this wasn’t counted as a franchise. In a way we maybe should have considered Revenge of the Nerds II. Firstly, because the first is aggressively uncouth by today’s standards. And second because despite seeing the first a dozen times on Comedy Central growing up, I’ve never seen the second.)
Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 23) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Lucinda Dickey is No. 1 billed in Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo and No. 1 billed in Breakin’, which also stars Ice-T (No. 7 billed) who is in Surviving the Game (No. 1 billed) which also stars Charles S. Dutton (No. 3 billed) who is in Random Hearts (No. 3 billed) which also stars Harrison Ford (No. 1 billed) who is in Hollywood Homicide (No. 1 billed) which also stars Josh Hartnett (No. 2 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 3 billed) => (1 + 1) + (7 + 1) + (3 + 3) + (1 + 1) + (2 + 3) = 23. If we were to watch Unforgettable we can get the HoE Number down to 18.
Notes – The phrase “Electric Boogaloo” has become a common unofficial sub-title for any unnecessary sequel.
To film a scene with dancers breakdancing on walls, the makers borrowed the rotating room from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). To show thanks, a picture of Freddy’s glove is hanging on the wall.
Inspired by real-life events. The Radio-Tron, a youth center near MacArthur Park, Los Angeles, faced demolition. Youth director Carmelo Alvarez rallied the youth and community to march to Los Angeles City Hall and try to save the Radio-Tron.
This sequel was green-lit and rushed into production less than a year after the original film.
Christopher McDonald was offered the chance to reprise his role of James from Breakin’ (1984). He turned it down.
“What?” Samantha says, frustrated that even her totally rizz new entry in the Holly Ween series didn’t get through to Jamie. “So I just need to dream again and then I’ll make sure to listen… like in your book,” Jamie says, adding the last part as he had forgotten that he was supposed to have already figured this out because of the book. But how could he be expected to interpret the hidden themes of a book when it was so ill and dope? “Alright,” Samantha starts again, “are you listening?” Jamie nods, staring intently. “I am dying.” Jamie gasps. He asks all the obvious questions. How? When? What? “It just happened,” Samantha says sadly, tears in her eyes. “I first noticed it in my elbow three years ago while practicing the shot put. But it ended up being more serious than that. It’s hard to explain. Just complex and vague really, but I assure you it’s terminal.” Jamie is blubbering at this point. “Who? Why? Where?” He gets out, not sure what else to say. Samantha hugs him, hoping he now understands why she ran. Why she ran so far away. All night and day… but she couldn’t get away. Not from this love. Jamie suddenly pulls away. “No!” he yells, “no, I don’t believe it. I’m going to punch those doctors that made you believe this. Just really punch them hard in the arm. Or maybe if we just get a second opinion then it’ll turn out they were wrong.” At this his face crumples and he begins to blubber again. Once he finishes he looks up, hope and love shining in his eyes. “What now?” he asks, accepting his new reality. Patrick looks on and his heart breaks for them. Kyle’s heart is breaking too. That’s right! We are pulling double dancin’ duty by watching both Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. These are classics of the genre, so there’s not much more to say. As for the Friend, we went full nostalgia for this one and did Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure. Boy, I haven’t seen that since I was a little kid. Should be fun. Let’s go!
Breakin’ (1984) – BMeTric: 24.5; Notability: 33
StreetCreditReport.com –BMeTric: top 8.8%; Notability: top 7.6%; Rotten Tomatoes: top 13.2%; Higher BMeT: Supergirl, Ghoulies, The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Rhinestone, Bolero, Cannonball Run II, Children of the Corn, Missing in Action, Sheena, City Heat, C.H.U.D., Conan the Destroyer, The Ice Pirates, Exterminator 2, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Ninja III: The Domination, Blame It on Rio, The Woman in Red, Protocol, and 2 more; Higher Notability: Dune, Cannonball Run II, City Heat, Supergirl, Firstborn, Protocol, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, The River, Unfaithfully Yours, American Dreamer, Conan the Destroyer, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Woman in Red, The Ice Pirates, Rhinestone, C.H.U.D., Sheena, Reckless, Exterminator 2; Lower RT: The Hills Have Eyes Part II, Bolero, Exterminator 2, Reckless, Thief of Hearts, Crackers, Until September, Ghoulies, Blame It on Rio, Supergirl, Sheena, Cannonball Run II, Windy City, The Ice Pirates, American Dreamer, Missing in Action, Rhinestone, Tank, Mutant, Purple Hearts, and 9 more; Notes: Only played eight times on television, which is, again, a surprise because I would think this could play anytime so would play afternoons on random channels, but nope. Supergirl played 29 times, Ghoulies 8 times, and Rhinestone 32 times. This is a rare year where we’ve only seen 5 of the top 10 BMeT films, so we really have to get on the Children of the Corn series.
New York Times – Break-Dancing Stars – “Breakin’,” which opened yesterday at the National and other theaters, features a number of good, mostly small-scale demonstrations of break-dancing, the energetic street choreography that is now in process of being co-opted and merchandized by big-time show business.
(Basically, the complaint seems to boil down to: enough with the story, I want more dancing! He ain’t wrong.)
(Alright, strike that the music in this one is incredible. And the beginning of the trailer is just groin shots over and over. I’m not complaining. Just to be clear. Don’t be mistaken’ I’m going to watch Breakin’.)
Directors – Joel Silberg – ( Known For: Lambada; The Best of Enemies; Rappin’; Catch the Heat; BMT: Breakin’; Notes: My god, he directed Prison Heat. Also Rappin; and Lambada! This guy is clearly a legend. He died in 2013.)
Writers – Charles Parker – ( BMT: Breakin’; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: Literally just this movie and characters on the sequel. There isn’t a “real” write on this whole thing (no offense intended).)
Allen DeBevoise – ( BMT: Breakin’; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: Alright, well this guy did some producing after, although nothing of major note.)
Gerald Scaife – ( BMT: Breakin’; Notes: Crazy, he only wrote this movie, but he’s apparently a construction estimator / accountant for major films. He did Titanic!)
Actors – Lucinda Dickey – ( Known For: Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films; Ninja III: The Domination; Cheerleader Camp; BMT: Grease 2; Breakin’; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: So Grease 2 she was just a random female Greaser. After these two films she did Ninja III and then retired as she got married in 1990.)
Adolfo Quinones – ( Known For: Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films; Lambada; BMT: Tango & Cash; Breakin’; Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; Notes: Bonafide break dancing legend by all accounts. His dance name was Shabba-Doo. He was also in Lambada and apparently did some breaking on Married… with Children.)
Michael Chambers – ( Notes: His name was Shrimp. Ignore the lack of detail here, he was actually in a bunch of movies, he just isn’t clearly in TMDb. My favorite credit is that he was Good Robot Bill in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. One of the bad guys was Good Robot Ted.)
Budget/Gross – $1.2 million / Domestic: $38,682,707 (Worldwide: $38,682,707)
(This was huge! What the hell. I would never have guessed how much money this made. No wonder they rushed a second film into production, they were apparently sitting on a goldmine!)
(That is genuinely better than I would have expected. Once again the consensus is like: If they would just let Turbo and Ozone cook this movie would be fire, instead it gets bogged down by insisting this movie have a plot.)
New York Times Description: Breakdancers. Some good hopping, period.
(I mean, yes. This is exactly the poster for Breakin’ and what it should be. It’s crazy terrible. D+ for the font.)
Tagline(s) – Push it to Pop it! Rock it to Lock it! Break it to Make it! (A+++++++)
For The Break Of Your Life! (B-)
(The first is obviously life-changing. The second is better than you think. Just reading it, you’d think it was terrible. But it’s kind of clever, if a bit clunky. Trust me, you’ll end up loving it.)
Keyword(s) – 1983-1991
Top 10: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Back to the Future (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Die Hard (1988), The Terminator (1984), Scarface (1983), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Future BMT: 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 72.5 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 67.9 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 61.1 Staying Alive (1983), 59.1 Suburban Commando (1991), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 57.6 Ghost Dad (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 55.1 Who’s That Girl (1987), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 53.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990), 52.5 Johnny Be Good (1988), 52.5 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.4 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), 49.3 King Solomon’s Mines (1985), 48.7 Hercules (1983), 48.6 Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
BMT: Jaws: The Revenge (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Troll 2 (1990), Jaws 3-D (1983), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Going Overboard (1989), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Mac and Me (1988), Caddyshack II (1988), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Howard the Duck (1986), Supergirl (1984), Cool as Ice (1991), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987), Leonard Part 6 (1987), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Superman III (1983), Poltergeist III (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), Wild Orchid (1989), …
Best Options (franchise): 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 67.9 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 52.5 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.4 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), …
(It would just be off of this list, as the second is the one we are actually doing here, but also for whatever reason this series isn’t on the franchise list … I guess maybe they don’t technically count franchises where there are only two films?)
Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 21) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Ice-T is No. 7 billed in Breakin’ and No. 1 billed in Surviving the Game, which also stars Charles S. Dutton (No. 3 billed) who is in Random Hearts (No. 3 billed) which also stars Harrison Ford (No. 1 billed) who is in Hollywood Homicide (No. 1 billed) which also stars Josh Hartnett (No. 2 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 3 billed) => (7 + 1) + (3 + 3) + (1 + 1) + (2 + 3) = 21. If we were to watch Unforgettable we can get the HoE Number down to 16.
Notes – In the first “street dancing” scene, in which Kelly accompanies Ozone and Turbo to the beach, the audience watching the dancing is comprised of surfers and beach bums. A man in a black singlet claps with the music. It’s Jean-Claude Van Damme in his first on-screen appearance. According to Van Damme, he tried hard to draw attention to himself by jumping in the air and doing flips, but they were not included in the film.
According to Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones would often try to show her up and make her feel intimidated because of her dancing ability and their clashes within the film rang true with his personal resentment for her which was also shared by their co-star Michael Chambers.
The film uses two of Ice-T’s early instrumental raps; Tibetan Jam and Reckless. The producers later used Tibetan Jam as background music in Missing in Action (1984).
The idea for the film came from Menahem Golan’s daughter who one day while at the beach saw a group of break dancers performing before a crowd.
This was Cannon Films most financially successful movie as distributor.
Let’s discuss the poster. Judd Nelson has a bone in his mouth and it says that “Getting to the top means working like a dog.” Actually there’s not much to discuss. That’s essentially all I have to say about it. It’s not 1980 anymore, From the Hip. Have some respect. Before watching, I was only vaguely aware of the movie and it was entirely poster based, so I presumed it was about some kind of dog lawyer. Not the case. Despite this disappointment and despite our past experiences with Blue City, Funky Fresh Horses has made me more intrigued by the Brat Pack adjacent projects, so we are diving right back into the Judd Nelson pool. And after this we still have a film called Relentless to complete our non-Brat Pack Judd Nelson trilogy. What a trilogy!
To recap, Judd Nelson is a HUMAN lawyer. He is tired of relentlessly trying to grind his way to the top so he concocts a plan to hide that a shitty trial is about to begin. His boss is miffed, but since he’s the only one who knows the case, he is allowed to try it. It should be an easy settlement, but his client, who is obviously guilty of assault, wants it stretched out to make the plaintiff squirm a little. Nelson obliges and creates a media frenzy over his theatrical antics. Everyone is loving it. Boy, this asshole is amazing! Through his antics he is actually able to sway the jury. His client is thrilled and the media is loving it. Turns out he was in leagues with the plaintiff’s lawyer to gin up all the media for their mutual benefit, so things need to be real hush hush or Judd’ll be in deep shit. These antics bring all kinds of big names to the firm and he is immediately rocketed to partner. The other lawyers at the firm hate him, so they give him a real stinker of a murder trial as his first case. He ends up defending John Hurt, who is a creepy professor who is almost certainly guilty of killing a prostitute with a hammer (fun!). Nelson is a bit perturbed by this, but not enough to stop him from putting on a show that seems to actually be swaying the jury. The ethics of it all starts to catch up with him and a breaking point is hit when Hurt basically confesses to Nelson all while refusing to take a Manslaughter plea deal. Nelson is torn, but ultimately risks disbarment by letting Hurt go on the witness stand. He uses Hurt’s ego against him to pull a confession out of him under oath. THE END.
Gotta love a courtroom comedy. This one has a little bit of a twist as well, since ultimately the lawyer is trying to sink his own client, and the whole film seems to be unusually accurate in how it talks about certain points of the law. Particularly the ethics of the final twist. It would seem that this likely didn’t start as a comedy. It was written by David E. Kelley and he used it as an in to get on the writing staff of L.A. Law. After that, it left his hands and I presume turned into a comedy. Definitely has that feel of a film that is a bit sure what it is about. Is it about a zany lawyer who looks like he’s a gimmick, but in fact knows his stuff? Or is it a story of the collision between ethics and ambition? This ends up not entirely working as either. I also found Nelson’s character to be one step too far past obnoxious and stopped buying that juries would be loving his antics enough to let obviously guilty people walk. I much preferred the parts of the film where he was seriously considering the shit he got himself into.
Hot Take Clam Bake! He didn’t have to risk disbarment. There is no way a creepy creepster who almost certainly killed a prostitute would have walked free just because the lawyer made the murder trial a whole barrel of laughs. Sure, I might feel some relief that the murder trial was a little less boring than expected, but I’d probably still say the obviously guilty person was guilty in the end. You know why? Because, and this is the hot take, I prefer the people I might potentially run into on the street or in a coffee shot to have NOT MURDERED A PROSTITUTE WITH A HAMMER. But maybe that’s just me and he really did need to risk disbarment. Hot Take Temperature: That cool feeling of a wet dog bone in your mouth.
Patrick?
Patrick
‘Ello everyone! *Gif of me being all clever and being annoying to a judge, but you know … the media loves it, right?* Let’s go!
The Good? The movie is a lot more fun than it has any right to be. At the time Judd Nelson was pitching a perfect game. He was incredibly charismatic. Same goes for Elizabeth Perkins. And the story is a funny story, from a courtroom drama perspective, although the “media driven fame” doesn’t work as much now I think.
The Bad? This movie is very derivative of …And Justice For All. The lawyer defending a big pile of shit who is definitely guilty and then doing a whole twist ‘em up right at the last second to save his soul. Well, that isn’t exactly …And Justice For All, but it is close enough that I found it a little weird. That movie is much much much much better.
The BMT? This film is too good. It is genuinely kind of good. I liked it. I would even watch it again.
So Surf Nazis Must Die is a classic of the past which I watched partly when I was a kid when our brother briefly ran a bad movie night himself. The movie is much more interesting and much more weird than I expected. It is kind of a surreal take on Nazis … almost literal. But then all in California with a strange side story involving an old woman seeking vengeance. Some of the silly gore is fun, and there are flashes of brilliance, but overall it ends up not being as fun as I would hope. Straight average C I think.
Wowza, that was a saga. So here I was curious, the poster for From the Hip is odd, it has Judd Nelson with a dog bone in his mouth. Is there a dog in this film? Why the dog bone? But it mostly made me wonder: are there other posters with dog bones in them? Turns out … no, not really. As a matter of fact it is the only wide release film released since 1980 in which the IMDb poster appears to have a physical (non-cartoon) dog bone. That … is insane. But I guess I solved it. More importantly I think I figured out a way to submit batch images to Google Gemini, so hopefully I can do some of these analyses pretty quickly in the future.
A great Setting as a Character (Where?) for Boston, which is always fun to see, there aren’t enough Boston movies I think. The MacGuffin (Why?) of the whole thing is fame and fortune of course. And the Worst Twist (How?) in the way in which Judd Nelson manages to twist the bad guy up to incriminate himself. This movie is Good, I liked it, and it was interesting, but also you should just watch …And Justice For All.
Learn about lawyers I think in the Quiz. Cheerios,
1) Judd Nelson was part of the Brat Pack. The common members of the crew include Emilio Estevez, Andrew McCarthy, and Rob Lowe among others. What two movies are commonly associated with members of the Brat Pack?
2) The film is directed by Bob Clark. He is somewhat notable for writing and directing what 1981 T&A comedy about rowdy high schoolers in Florida? He allegedly wrote the script as a stream of conscience into a tape recorder.
3) Judd Nelson was nominated for a Razzie for the film. He would ultimately lose to Bill Cosby for what Sci Fi stinker?
4) We just watched Elizabeth Perkins in The Flintstones. But what ensemble film, starring Alan Arkin, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Pollak among others, did she film prior to that, which was notably lampooned by the film Wet Hot American Summer?
5) John Hurt plays the murderer in the film. He’s been nominated for two Academy Awards, although he’s never won. One was for Midnight Express, which I’ve read the book of but never seen. The other was for the lead role in a very early David Lynch film. What film?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: On April 4, 1992, From the Hip played primetime on channel 11. A little bit before though on HBO was:
“In my dream (a rather small dream now that I recall it) we are running through a forest. It’s a forest of lies, but also those lies/trees are birch trees… We are just like swinging around dem birches, right? Swinging all over the place and it feels pretty damn good. Then we swing on up to the top of a hill and we are smooching… hard. We make out for a while. This is actually most of my dream. It was in actuality a large dream just in terms of duration, but small if you write out the plot or recount it like I’m doing now. Because you can just say ‘and then we smooched… hard’ and that covers like 95% of the dream. Anyway, once we are done smooching you turn your head away in anguish. I try to pull you back to the birch trees so we can swing around a bunch more, but you say you can’t. You cradle your elbow and say that you’ve been trying to tell me something but I never listen. Then you begin to tell me what has been bothering you, but at this point I’m remembering swinging around in the birch trees and smooching and then I’m like ‘woah, am I daydreaming within this dream?’ and you’d think that by acknowledging the dream that it would end, right? But no. When I stop daydreaming you are looking peeved and say ‘Perhaps this will make you listen.’ When I look down you’ve pulled a tiny gun from your hip pocket. It’s so tiny that I actually start to laugh, but then you shoot! You shoot me with the little gun! And I wake up!” Jamie stands staring back at Samantha, appearing rather pleased with himself. Samantha is bewildered. That’s right! That connection was a bit of a stretch, but we are watching the Judd Nelson vehicle that everyone remembers, From the Hip… yup, that movie that you can just imagine because you remember it so well. As for the Friend, we are pairing that with a classic of the genre in Surf Nazis Must Die. We saw this for the first time in high school, but not since. Interested in how it holds up all these years later. Let’s go!
From the Hip (1987) – BMeTric: 13.1; Notability: 26
StreetCreditReport.com –BMeTric: top 17.6%; Notability: top 12.8%; Rotten Tomatoes: top 16.6%; Higher BMeT: Jaws: The Revenge, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Teen Wolf Too, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Leonard Part 6, Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Surf Nazis Must Die, Who’s That Girl, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Masters of the Universe, Ghoulies II, Return to Horror High, House II: The Second Story, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, Hard Ticket to Hawaii, Over the Top, Burglar, Cherry 2000, Flowers in the Attic, and 24 more; Higher Notability: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Masters of the Universe, Who’s That Girl, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, Jaws: The Revenge, Fatal Beauty, Leonard Part 6, Cherry 2000, Blind Date, Burglar, Over the Top, The Sicilian, House II: The Second Story, My Demon Lover, Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, The Believers, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Hot Pursuit, Slam Dance, Rent-a-Cop, and 12 more; Lower RT: Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Hot Pursuit, Return to Horror High, Rent-a-Cop, My Demon Lover, The Allnighter, Jaws: The Revenge, Leonard Part 6, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, House II: The Second Story, Teen Wolf Too, Hello Again, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, The Sicilian, Ghoulies II, Russkies, The Squeeze, Surf Nazis Must Die, Siesta, and 19 more; Notes: I’m actually a little surprised this only played 13 times on cable in the 90s, this seems perfect for filling up a random cinemax slot. We’ve watched 6 of the top 10 for 1987, and I’m going to guess Teen Wolf Too has an insane number of cable plays (74! I knew it, that movie was on all the time). Surf Nazis Must Die played 16 times, more than From the Hip! I only knew of it because for some reason my brother knew enough about it to rent it for a bad movie night.
RogerEbert.com – 2.5 stars – I have a notion that a lot of moviegoers in Nelson’s generation will respond to his performance. There’s so much insecurity around right now, so much desperate competition for success, that the notion of a rebel inside corporate America is curiously attractive. If I am right and if our society is poised once again on the brink of a rerun of the 1960s, if Reagan is our Eisenhower, if the campuses are primed to revolt, then “From the Hip” is “The Graduate” of 1987. If I’m wrong, of course, it’s just a very silly movie. Somehow I think I’m wrong.
(This seems to be a trend in some of the reviews of the film: that yeah, people liked Nelson’s performance in this. The film is more fun than it has any right to be, quite similar to …And Justice for All.)
(I must say the fact that this isn’t about someone who holds a dog bone in their mouth at any point is crazy considering the poster. I’ll also say … isn’t this the plot of And Just For All… more on that in the recap I suppose.)
Directors – Bob Clark – ( Known For: A Christmas Story; Black Christmas; Murder by Decree; Dead of Night; Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things; Blonde and Blonder; My Summer Story; Tribute; I’ll Remember April; Now & Forever; She-Man: A Story of Fixation; Breaking Point; Future BMT: Porky’s; Porky’s II: The Next Day; Loose Cannons; Turk 182; BMT: Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2; Baby Geniuses; Rhinestone; From the Hip; Notes: Him slipping into kids films and then his career exploding after Baby Geniuses is something else indeed. We have to do Porky’s at some point, maybe I’ll buy it on VHS.)
Writers – Bob Clark – ( Known For: A Christmas Story; Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things; My Summer Story; She-Man: A Story of Fixation; Future BMT: Porky’s; Porky’s II: The Next Day; Porky’s Revenge; Loose Cannons; BMT: Baby Geniuses; From the Hip; Notes: He died in 2007. Apparently he is one of only two directors who had a movie on both the Loved and Hated lists by Ebert (the other was Reiner).)
David E. Kelley – ( Known For: Lake Placid; Future BMT: Mystery, Alaska; To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday; BMT: From the Hip; Notes: One of the big names in television still to this day. He’s been nominated for 25 Emmys, and won 11, variously for Big Little Lies, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Picket Fences, and L.A. Law. Is this movie a proto-L.A. Law? L.A. Law started in 1986, but this script may have existed for a while prior to that.)
Actors – Judd Nelson – ( Known For: The Breakfast Club; Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day; St. Elmo’s Fire; The Transformers: The Movie; New Jack City; Billionaire Boys Club; Nurse; Fandango; Have a Good Trip; Brats; The Dark Backward; Bad Kids Go to Hell; Madness in the Method; Never on Tuesday; Relentless; Making the Grade; The Freediver; Netherbeast Incorporated; Hail Caesar; Future BMT: Airheads; Light It Up; BMT: Steel; From the Hip; Blue City; Notes: Y’all know Judd. His post-Brat Pack career is weird. I am very very excited to eventually watch Airheads again though, it is a very fun and genuinely good movie.)
Elizabeth Perkins – ( Known For: Finding Nemo; Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Ghostbusters; Big; Cats & Dogs; Miracle on 34th Street; Speak; About Last Night; Fierce People; Avalon; Try Seventeen; Indian Summer; The Doctor; My Little Pony: A New Generation; Jiminy Glick in Lalawood; The Thing About My Folks; Love at Large; Sweet Hearts Dance; Enid Is Sleeping; I’m Losing You; Future BMT: 28 Days; Hop; Must Love Dogs; Crazy in Alabama; He Said, She Said; Moonlight and Valentino; Kids in America; BMT: The Ring Two; The Flintstones; From the Hip; Notes: Man, she was huge back in the day. I got very confused for a second about who she was in Ghostbusters, but that is the 2016 Ghostbusters. Nominated for 3 Emmys for Weeds.)
John Hurt – ( Known For: V for Vendetta; Alien; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Snowpiercer; Hellboy; Contact; Hellboy II: The Golden Army; Perfume: The Story of a Murderer; The Elephant Man; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Spaceballs; Melancholia; Immortals; Hercules; Dogville; Only Lovers Left Alive; Dead Man; Future BMT: The Skeleton Key; Valiant; Thumbelina; King Ralph; Lost Souls; Partners; Jake Speed; BMT: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin; Wild Bill; From the Hip; Notes: Nominated for two Oscars for The Elephant Man, and Midnight Express. I still need to watch Midnight Express. I read the book and it was just on the wrong side of depressing so I needed some time to process before watching the movie.)
Budget/Gross – $9 million / Domestic: $9,518,342 (Worldwide: $9,518,342)
(Not what you want. I wonder how much of the budget went into some of the location shoots. The locations in this film are quite fun, but probably cost a bit to film at.)
Rotten Tomatoes – 30% (7/23): From the Hip finds Judd Nelson flexing previously unseen acting muscles, but this legal comedy is too grating to pass the bar.
(Too grating?! I guess I can see it, but that is the point. Again, it isn’t that much different than …And Justice For All where the main character is defending a monster and has to vaguely figure out how to get out of the situation deftly.)
New York Times Description: A showoff rookie lawyer in Boston.
(You may not remember this film, but this is a very well known poster in my head. It’s such an F- it comes all the way around and is an A+. What a disaster. Who made this?)
Tagline(s) – Getting To The Top Means Working Like A Dog! (F)
The way he practices law should be a crime (A-)
(The first makes no sense and yet they turned around and made it the basis of the whole thing. The second one is actually not bad. Just needs to be a little tighter.)
Keyword(s) – 1983-1991
Top 10: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Back to the Future (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Die Hard (1988), The Terminator (1984), Scarface (1983), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Future BMT: 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 72.5 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 67.9 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 61.1 Staying Alive (1983), 59.1 Suburban Commando (1991), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 57.6 Ghost Dad (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 55.1 Who’s That Girl (1987), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 53.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990), 52.5 Johnny Be Good (1988), 52.5 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.4 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), 49.3 King Solomon’s Mines (1985), 48.7 Hercules (1983), 48.6 Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
BMT: Jaws: The Revenge (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Troll 2 (1990), Jaws 3-D (1983), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Going Overboard (1989), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Mac and Me (1988), Caddyshack II (1988), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Howard the Duck (1986), Supergirl (1984), Cool as Ice (1991), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987), Leonard Part 6 (1987), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Superman III (1983), Poltergeist III (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), Wild Orchid (1989), …
Best Options (Flintstones): 57.6 Ghost Dad (1990), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), 44.8 King Ralph (1991), 42.0 Club Paradise (1986), 41.6 Loose Cannons (1990), 41.0 Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987), 37.9 Invaders from Mars (1986), 36.5 Burglar (1987), 34.0 Hero and the Terror (1988), 31.0 Jetsons: The Movie (1990), 29.0 He Said, She Said (1991), 28.4 The Presidio (1988), 27.2 Flight of the Intruder (1991), 26.0 Bad Dreams (1988), 24.6 The Survivors (1983), 24.5 Sunset (1988), 21.6 Dead Heat (1988), 20.6 Spies Like Us (1985), 20.3 Strictly Business (1991), 18.9 Head Office (1985), 17.9 Brewster’s Millions (1985), 17.7 Skin Deep (1989), 15.9 Worth Winning (1989), 13.6 Stella (1990), 13.0 From the Hip (1987)
(Ha! Well, what you didn’t know is that we needed to do From the Hip in order to chain up into 2024. These days bad movies are at such a premium they pretty much dictate any and all chain films for the back half of the year.)
Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 15) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: John Hurt is No. 3 billed in From the Hip and No. 3 billed in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, which also stars Nicolas Cage (No. 1 billed) who is in The Wicker Man (No. 1 billed) which also stars Leelee Sobieski (No. 6 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 1 billed) => (3 + 3) + (1 + 1) + (6 + 1) = 15. If we were to watch Must Love Dogs, and The Glass House we can get the HoE Number down to 10.
Notes – At his son’s elementary school, writer-produce-director Bob Clark offered a silent auction prize allowing the winner to go to Charlotte in North Carolina and go behind the scenes during the filming of this movie. After friends of the family won the auction, Clark allowed the entire family to be extras / background artists in a scene rather than just observers.
TV producer Steven Bochco hired writer David E. Kelley to write for his television series L.A. Law (1986) after reading this script.
Star Judd Nelson was Razzie Award nominated for this movie in the category of Worst Actor at the 1988 Golden Raspberry Awards but lost out Bill Cosby for Leonard Part 6 (1987).
Attorney David E. Kelley showed his spec screenplay to his law firm’s client, Indian Neck Productions, who optioned it and then recruited the film’s director Bob Clark.
This legal courtroom comedy drama was written by David E. Kelley who was actually a law attorney in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Awards – Nominee for the Razzie Award for Worst Actor (Judd Nelson)
The whole backstory of Dream a Little Dream is tragic. Corey Feldman was trying to be a more serious actor. He wanted a role that would stretch his horizons a bit. But he also was deep in a Michael Jackson phase and wanted to push that as well. What does that mean? Given the fact that Michael Jackson was a singing, dancing and fashion icon, Feldman decided to go for the trifecta. He’s working on a single for the film, and within the film he gets to dress like MJ and dance his little heart out. So sure, he wants to do this very serious philosophical body swap movie with Academy Award winner Jason Robards, but he also wants the dance scene. The studio? Thrilled. Interestingly, if you read Feldman’s autobiography he seems to indicate that the inclusion of Corey Haim was more his agent/studio idea. Once Feldman was in didn’t they want to cash in on the Two Corey’s mania? Did it matter that Haim broke his leg just before filming? Nah, write it in. So what started as an attempt for Feldman to be taken more seriously became a Two Corey’s vehicle with MJ inspired dance sequences. As I said, tragic.
To recap, Coleman and Gena are an elderly married couple. Coleman has become obsessed with dreams and the idea that through dreams he will be able to spend eternity with his beloved. He is pursuing this through the power of meditation when suddenly Bobby, a local bad boy/slacker, collides with the girl he has a crush on, Lainie, who unfortunately dates one of his friends. This collision at the moment of meditative perfection results in a body swap, whereby Bobby and Lainie are stuck in the dream world while Gena and Coleman are now teenagers, gulp! Confusedly, they also are kinda mixed with their original selves so they are more like old people-teenager hybrids and only sort of know each other. Coleman wants to just wait it out, but then realizes he has to play into the role of Bobby or else risk his wife getting stuck forever in the dream world dooming them to be separated forever. Coleman ends up helping Bobby get better grades and improve his relationship with his parents. All this in pursuit of Lainie, who it eventually becomes clear must fall for Bobby in order to recreate the magic and swap all the bodies back. This culminates in a climactic scene where Bobby talks his friend out of murdering him (for real) and a different (and much more important) scene where Bobby dances like Michael Jackson and looks totally cool for sure. Having completed the mission Coleman realizes then that there is no replacement for the real thang and indeed they are able to switch back.. THE END.
I feel a little bad for Feldman. You can tell he was having some troubles here and he looks crazy. The idea that someone would want to take his career from acting to the general genre of “Michael Jackson impersonator” is insane. That’s not a genre of music/dancing/fashion. That’s just what MJ does. And yet MJ was so huge that this was a viable career move and he was hardly the biggest star to have tried it. All that being said, Feldman actually does have natural charisma. There’s a reason I remember liking his character the best in a number of notable films. This is all a wind up to say that this film is super duper weird. One of the weirdest major motion pictures I can think of. It’s like a deeply philosophical take on a body swap movie. Makes me think the writer-director said yes to all kinds of things involving Feldman simply because he wanted desperately to make this weird ass movie that otherwise probably wouldn’t have been made. Usually when something this weird is made you have to assume it’s based on a book (like Winter’s Tale or something). But this is a Mark Rocco original, babbby. As for Ghosts Can’t Do It, the only reason to watch this unpleasant catastrophe is to see the perfect example of an auteur film. A film that truly seems like you are looking into the deranged mind of its creator, like a Neil Breen film. The basic plot is about Bo Derek being married to an elderly rich guy who has awesome sex with her, but then dies and his ghost demands she find a hot young stud to kill so he can possess him and they can continue boning. And then they do just that. You OK, John Derek? Perfect pairing with Dream a Little Dream.
Hot Take Clam Bake! Are we sure (steady yourselves) Feldman couldn’t have been Michael J. Fox? Like if he hadn’t gone down the dark road he was on would we have seen him carry some big films and then transition to a career where he’s the star of Just Shoot Me! or something? You see him running around and acting and (god help me) dancing and there are actual moments where I had to take a step back and be like “this kid was a mess and still got up there and looks halfway like a star.” It makes me want to read more of his autobiography just to see how aware he was of what was happening as it crumbled and fell apart. I can tell you the Dream a Little Dream parts of the book are very engaging. Hot Take Temperature: A Michael Jackson dance move.
Patrick?
Patrick
‘Ello everyone! *Gif of me dressed as Michael Jackson lip synching a song and dancing around like an idiot* Let’s go!
The good? Uh … this movie is bonkers. Like, this movie is like you cracked the head of the writer open and just started watching. It is wild shit, and in a way I’m here for it, and the fact that it operates like a standard body swap almost makes it better. Some of the cast is also quite good, like they know what’s up and what they need to do … some of the cast.
The bad? Both Coreys. I don’t want to pile on them. I don’t want to come down hard on them. But Haim is just all over the place, limping around, and really very terrible in this. Feldman just looks like a lunatic. He’s a bit better from the acting perspective.
The BMT? In a way yes … it is really really weird. It is a really weird film. It is so weird. Is it so weird it could view for Hall of Fame … I think so. I it so weird. But it is also boring. It is such a tough decision. The movie is just so weird!
You best believe Ghosts Can’t Do It. I have no words. This is a truly bizarre film. John and Bo Derek were one of one terrible filmmakers. We’ve seen several of them so far, and they kind of just get worse and worse as you watch them. One time a critic I think said that John Derek was the worst filmmaker in history. Part of me wants to say that that is right. This film is very weird, Bo Derek comes across as very weird, and the mind of whomever wrote this movie seems very weird. D, part of me wants to be like A+, this is what BMT is all about, but the film is weird and off putting, so I’m slamming it. Slammed!
Obviously a big part of my AI journey here is trying to find uses for it in BMT. So far … mixed bag. There are odd bits where I’m like that’s interesting, but nothing so far is shaking the BMT foundations. One idea Jamie had was to look through Letterboxd reviews, and what better opportunity to look through structured returns. So I pulled 100 reviews off of Letterboxd, and then ran it through Gemini with the instruction to say whether the review indicated the person had “fun” watching the movie or not. It would return as a json blob which seems .. vaguely correct I suppose.
Anyways, to try it on this guy. Out of the 100 reviews the BMT Super Fun Factor (aka BMTSSF) was 41%. That is actually pretty good. If we want some references BMT classic Cobra was a 73%, BMT classic stinker Waiting for Forever is 14%. It is perfect? No, one in like five fails for no reason by giving back bad json. Spot checking shows it isn’t super clearly interpreting things well, possibly just random outside of very bad or very good reviews. But it is a pretty funny idea. Similar to pulling keywords out of posters, this is one thing where it is like … just fun enough that I might actually try scraping a full year to see if anything interesting falls out the other side.
Oh, and let’s see if we should get excited. What is From the Hip’s BMTSSF? 45%. So a little better than Dream a Little Dream. Surf Nazis Must Die is a 48%, which maybe points to it somewhat deserving its cult classic reputation.
Oh, definitely a Planchet (Who?) for Haim which is a bizarre character with an even more bizarre production story. Some solid Product Placement (What?) for the oreos you snack on as you talk to your kids about the accident he just got in. I mean, maybe the ultimate MacGuffin (Why?) y’all need to get back in your body, it’s a body swap film. And I’m going to do it, this is a BMT film, it is wild and crazy and weird.
Dreams? Little Dreams? Talk to me, people. Let’s go!
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) It’s the End of the World as We Know it by R.E.M. is on the soundtrack for the film. It peaked at 69 on the Billboard Top 100. That is not nearly the highest R.E.M. reached, which was #4 for what song?
2) For the Siskel and Ebert episode for The Worst Films of 1989, Dream a Little Dream was a pick. Another film was a little film about a wrestler named Zeus starring Hulk Hogan. What was that film?
3) The Two Coreys were famous enough as a duo to have their own wikipedia page. They paired up nine times on film. The first time was in The Lost Boys, and the third time was in this film Dream a Little Dream. What was the second film they appeared in together?
4) This is an impossible one, but in the direct-to-video sequel Dream a Little Dream 2, Bobby Keller and Dinger find magic what? Yeah, you read that right, literally magic.
5) Jason Robards is in the film. He won a Tony (The Disenchanted), two Academy Awards (All the President’s Men, and Julia), and an Emmy (Inherit the Wind). But he notably played James Tyrone Jr. in what Eugene O’Neill adaptation?
Bonus NYTimes Listing Question: On March 19, 1990, Dream a Little Dream played at 8PM on HBO. Right after though this came on:
Plain Jane is back, Jack! Third time’s a charm, but is it third time’s a… love?! Who would have thought that Plain Jane Never-Been-Kissed would have two dreamboat guys fighting over her? Not this girl, that’s who. Alejandro has shown up in the Big Apple professing his love for Holly and Brad has returned from Aspen even more in love with Jane than ever. Eeeeeek! If only she could be both Jane and Holly at the same time! Brain Blitz! What if she can? Her grandmother always said be careful what she wished for, particularly when using a monkey’s paw. Down goes a finger and… oops! Turns out when she wished that Jane and Holly would exist at the same time it meant that she would remain Plain Jane, but *gulp* Brad would become possessed by Holly Ween. It’s a sass attack as Holly Brad takes NYC by storm. Now she has to reveal her true identity to Alejandro in order to recruit him to help. He’s hurt. Doesn’t he know that he loved her for what was on the inside? But also, as he takes her glasses off, he mentions that her beauty on the outside doesn’t hurt either. Who? Little ol’ her? Jane and Alejandro are quite the power couple as they power their way into the hottest club in NYC and win a dance off against Holly Brad. Turns out out-dancing Holly Ween’s spirit is the only way to defeat her and the monkey’s paw closes again. Alejandro goes in for the kiss but Plain Jane turns him away. She can’t… because she’s dying. Brad and Alejandro gasp. Turns out they’re dying too.
“You get it?” Samantha says. “Let me see if I do,” Jamie says and begins to recount a dream he had. We’re recounting a little dream we had this week. The dream of watching Dream a Little Dream starring the Corey’s. Boy that sounds like a rough time. Hope we have a nice palate cleanser for our Friend this week. Ghosts Can’t Do It starring Bo Derek! Welp… it’s a hard job, but someone has to do it. Let’s go!
Dream a Little Dream (1989) – BMeTric: 29.8; Notability: 25
StreetCreditReport.com –BMeTric: top 10.4%; Notability: top 20.8%; Rotten Tomatoes: top 4.5%; Higher BMeT: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, Wild Orchid, Cyborg, The Fly II, The Karate Kid Part III, No Holds Barred, Cutting Class, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland, DeepStar Six, The Toxic Avenger Part II, Shocker, Pink Cadillac, The Punisher, Speed Zone, House III: The Horror Show, The January Man, and 6 more; Higher Notability: Tango & Cash, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Troop Beverly Hills, Lock Up, A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child, The Karate Kid Part III, Harlem Nights, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Fletch Lives, Leviathan, Three Fugitives, Listen to Me, Pink Cadillac, Family Business, Millennium, Dead Bang, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, The Punisher, Let It Ride, Renegades, and 32 more; Lower RT: Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, The Toxic Avenger Part II, House III: The Horror Show, Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects, Speed Zone, Homer and Eddie, Worth Winning, Elves, Second Sight, Night Game, Wired; Notes: Played 42 times, and we’ve actually seen 8 of the top 10 BMeT films for 1989 which is pretty great. We really need to get on The Karate Kid III. I keep forgetting there was a sequel to this film (also starring Feldman) and that played an insane 45 times on television. Ghosts Can’t Do It played 23 times, including, amazingly, premiering on Cinemax on July 23rd 1991 in the primetime slot, wowza.
RogerEbert.com – 0.5 stars – So there I was, watching this TV commercial for “Dream a Little Dream,” when suddenly a light bulb went on over my head, and I said, “Hold on a minute,” because the commercial shows Corey Feldman as a kid named Bobby who has all these problems in school, you know, and like he’s in love with this girl but she’s dating the toughest kid in the class and so, like wow, what is Bobby gonna do? After I saw this commercial, what I wanted to know was: What happened to Jason Robards? What the commercial doesn’t tell you is that this kid named Bobby is not really a 16-year-old at all. He has a teenager’s body, sure, but inside his head, he is occupied by Jason Robards. … “Dream a Little Dream” is an aggressively unwatchable movie.
(Roger Ebert really channelling the Bad Movie Twins style of writing for a second there. It does make me think we have a voice here … it isn’t an intelligent or good voice, but it is something that someone somewhere would go like “huh” to, you know?)
(My god the music. Watching all these trailers makes me realize just how insane the music in trailers often are. My god, this is a body swap film?! What the hell?)
Directors – Marc Rocco – ( Known For: Murder in the First; Where the Day Takes You; Scenes from the Goldmine; BMT: Dream a Little Dream; Notes: Somehow Murder in the First was his last directorial effort. I remember that film being at least not-bad. He produced a bunch after, including The Jacket.)
Writers – Daniel Jay Franklin – ( BMT: Dream a Little Dream; Notes: Literally this is it. He wrote a single episode of Knots Landing, and then got a character credit for the sequel.)
Marc Rocco – ( Known For: The Jacket; Where the Day Takes You; Scenes from the Goldmine; BMT: Dream a Little Dream; Notes: Adopted son of the guy who played Salvator in The Wedding Planner … oh also the guy was in The Godfather, but The Wedding Planner seemed more appropriate to mention.)
Danny Eisenberg – ( BMT: Dream a Little Dream; Notes: Seems to be a collaborator with Rocco since he also wrote (and composed for?) Scenes from the Goldmine.)
Actors – Corey Feldman – ( Known For: Stand by Me; The Goonies; Gremlins; The Lost Boys; Maverick; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; The Fox and the Hound; The ‘Burbs; Time After Time; Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV; Corbin Nash; Pauly Shore Is Dead; My Date with Drew; Kid 90; Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope; Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy; Meatballs 4; An Open Secret; 13 Fanboy; Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever; Future BMT: Loaded Weapon 1; License to Drive; Bordello of Blood; Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star; BMT: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter; Friday the 13th: A New Beginning; Friday the 13th: The New Blood; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III; Dream a Little Dream; Notes: For real, for this film he readily admits he was in his “Michael Jackson” phase. He had vaguely learned to dance like Michael, and he dressed like him, but he basically couldn’t sing, but at the time that didn’t seem to be of concern to Feldman who straight mimics Jackson throughout this film. He looks ridiculous.)
Jason Robards – ( Known For: Once Upon a Time in the West; Magnolia; Enemy of the State; Philadelphia; All the President’s Men; Crimson Tide; Parenthood; Tora! Tora! Tora!; Quick Change; Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid; A Boy and His Dog; Johnny Got His Gun; The Paper; My Best Fiend; Something Wicked This Way Comes; The Ballad of Cable Hogue; Julia; Beloved; The Adventures of Huck Finn; Bright Lights, Big City; Future BMT: Little Big League; BMT: Dream a Little Dream; A Thousand Acres; Notes: You know, I’m reading King Lear now, and I think I might have to reassess A Thousand Acres at some point. I remember finding it nuts at the time, but it is a weird take on King Lear which maybe I could understand better. He won two Oscars, for All the President’s Men and Julia, and was nominated for Melvin and Howard.)
Corey Haim – ( Known For: The Lost Boys; Silver Bullet; Lucas; Murphy’s Romance; Watchers; Prayer of the Rollerboys; An Open Secret; Dream Machine; Oh, What a Night; My Truth: The Rape of Two Coreys; New Terminal Hotel; Shark City; Never Too Late; Future BMT: License to Drive; Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star; Secret Admirer; Firstborn; BMT: Batman & Robin; Crank: High Voltage; Dream a Little Dream; Notes: Apparently he was added very late in the game as a request by Feldman (who seemed to take over production to some degree), and then Haim broke his leg, and they just wrote into the script that he walks with a cane. It is nuts.)
(It is honestly astonishing this made any money. It is crazy that it was released to theaters. The film is so so so so weird. One of the weirdest BMTs in history and that’s saying something.)
(The consensus here is actually very straightforward: this movie is completely incoherent. Audiences will be left in a daze after wondering what the hell they just saw.)
New York Times Description: Routine high school slick cloaked in foggy folderol about dreams and incarnation.
(This is actually hurting my eyes a little. At least the font has a bit of vim and vigor. C-.)
Tagline(s) – With dreams like these who needs reality? (D+)
(I don’t… I’m not sure I understand. With dreams like these… who needs reality? You sure about that one? A classic, this sounds like a tagline but I assure you it isn’t a tagline.)
Keyword(s) – 1983-1991
Top 10: The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Back to the Future (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983), Die Hard (1988), The Terminator (1984), Scarface (1983), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Future BMT: 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 72.5 Teen Wolf Too (1987), 67.9 Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983), 61.1 Staying Alive (1983), 59.1 Suburban Commando (1991), 57.7 The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990), 57.6 Ghost Dad (1990), 56.7 The Karate Kid Part III (1989), 55.1 Who’s That Girl (1987), 54.8 Curse of the Pink Panther (1983), 53.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990), 52.5 Johnny Be Good (1988), 52.5 Porky’s II: The Next Day (1983), 52.4 Porky’s Revenge (1985), 52.2 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), 51.8 Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), 49.3 King Solomon’s Mines (1985), 48.7 Hercules (1983), 48.6 Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection (1990), 48.6 My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
BMT: Jaws: The Revenge (1987), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), Troll 2 (1990), Jaws 3-D (1983), Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), Going Overboard (1989), Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989), Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989), Mac and Me (1988), Caddyshack II (1988), Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Howard the Duck (1986), Supergirl (1984), Cool as Ice (1991), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985), The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987), Leonard Part 6 (1987), Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Superman III (1983), Poltergeist III (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989), Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987), Wild Orchid (1989), …
Best Options (Romance): 72.7 Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), 61.1 Staying Alive (1983), 55.1 Who’s That Girl (1987), 47.2 Big Top Pee-wee (1988), 44.8 American Ninja (1985), 44.8 King Ralph (1991), 38.6 Stroker Ace (1983), 38.2 The Butcher’s Wife (1991), 35.3 Spring Break (1983), 33.6 Career Opportunities (1991), 32.0 The Forbidden Dance (1990), 31.5 Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986), 30.5 The Woman in Red (1984), 30.0 High Spirits (1988), 29.8 Dream a Little Dream (1989), …
(We mostly did this for the year if I recall. But is is one of those wild films that is completely off the wall inexplicable, so it isn’t like we were struggling with the decision. It is the best 1989 Romance film we could find regardless.)
Welcome to Earf (HoE Number 18) – The shortest path through The Movie Database cast lists using only BMT films is: Jason Robards is No. 1 billed in Dream a Little Dream and No. 3 billed in A Thousand Acres, which also stars Michelle Pfeiffer (No. 1 billed) who is in New Year’s Eve (No. 3 billed) which also stars Robert De Niro (No. 2 billed) who is in Righteous Kill (No. 1 billed) which also stars Al Pacino (No. 2 billed) who is in 88 Minutes (No. 1 billed) which also stars Leelee Sobieski (No. 3 billed) who is in Here on Earth (No. 1 billed) => (1 + 3) + (1 + 3) + (2 + 1) + (2 + 1) + (3 + 1) = 18. If we were to watch License to Drive we can get the HoE Number down to 14.
Notes – Four days before filming, Corey Haim broke his leg and Dinger’s character had to be rewritten to include the injury. While his actual cast was removed during filming, he had to wear a fake one for the remainder of the production. In the movie Dinger says that his mother hit him with her car. In real life, Haim broke his leg while trying to teach his mom how to ride a motorbike. She couldn’t use the brakes well yet, and ran into the side of a building, breaking her nose and Corey’s leg.
On the wall of Bobby’s room a poster for the movie “The Lost Boys (1987)” can be seen. Corey Feldman and Corey Haim both starred in “The Lost Boys”.
At the time of filming the two Coreys were both addicted to drugs such as cocaine, as well as Feldman using heroin at the time and having an obsession with Michael Jackson. He included Jackson style type moves in the dance sequence involving Lainie in the gym.
This film re-teams frequent co-stars Corey Feldman and Corey Haim though originally only Feldman was cast in the film. When Lala Sloatman was cast as Shelley, she agreed to be in the film on the condition that her then-boyfriend Haim was also cast.
During a dream meeting between Bobby and Coleman, Bobby gives Coleman instructions to view Bobby’s home movies to learn how to act like a more believable Bobby. When the film cuts to Coleman selecting a VHS tape of one of Bobby’s birthdays, the audience can see a videotape on the shelf with Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) marked on the label. Jason Robards, playing Coleman, also played General Walter C. Short in the 1970 WWII film.
Bad Movie Twins 