Kickin' it Old Skool (2007)
Directed by Harvey Glazer
Written by Josh Siegel
Starring Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Miguel Nunez, Vivica A Fox
Release Date April 27th, 2007
Published April 28th, 2007
Has any actor thrived more on less talent? I've asked this question every time I've seen Jamie Kennedy take the lead in another of his low budget unfunny comedies. Beginning with the offensively unfunny Malibu's Most Wanted to the dreadfully unwatchable Son of the Mask and now through his latest abomination called Kickin' It Old Skool a bizarre homage to or satire of 80's breakdance culture, I have watched in stunned disbelief as another film studio tossed more millions at this tremendously unfunny comic.
In Kickin' It Old Skool Jamie Kennedy stars as Justin, a breakdance aficionado who puts himself into a coma attempting a difficult breakdance move. 20 some years pass before Justin somehow comes out of his coma still feeling like that 12 year old kid who loved to spin on his head. With medical bills crushing his poor parents, Justin has to find a way to make some quick cash.
His lucky break comes when a trip to the mall reunites him with his former breakdancing pal Darnell (Miguel A. Nunez) who points him in the direction of a new dance contest TV show shooting at the mall. Thus Justin launches a plan to reunite his old breakdance pals, Darnell, Aki (Bobby Lee) and Hector (Aris Alvarado) and try to win the dance contest. Standing in his way is his old rival and the show's host Kip (Michael Rosenbaum). But he does find support from Kip's girlfriend Jennifer (Maria Menounos) who was Justin's childhood crush.
Kickin' It Old Skool runs on two comic tracks. On the one track is an homage to cheeseball 80's culture including a truly lame cameo from David Hasselhoff. On the other is an attempt to parody recent dance off movies like Stomp The Yard and You Got Served. Unfortunately, director Harvey Glazer lacks the talent to combine these elements into one comic focus.
It doesn't help that his star Jamie Kennedy is utterly talentless. Yes, I admit admiring his know it all performance in Scream but name another thing that Jamie Kennedy has done that he can be proud of? Hmm.....The Mask 2?
Kickin 'It Old Skool suffers from the same comic misapprehension as so many comedies of 2007. Movies like Hot Rod and Balls of Fury and Kickin 'It Old Skool all seem to believe that if the main character does something out of the norm; that thing is automatically funny. Context be damned. In Hot Rod it's supposed to be funny that this guy is a small town stunt man. In Balls of Fury the main character plays ping pong. In Kickin' It Old Skool Jamie Kennedy and his pals breakdance.
The creators of these films simply assume we will laugh at the premise and never bother to actually write funny jokes or give the characters anything funny to do aside from falling down or listening to music more than 20 years old. If you think old school rap is hysterically funny just for existing, then Kickin' It Old Skool is the movie for you.
I would rather watch a Rob Schneider film festival than sit through one Jamie Kennedy movie. From Malibu's Most Wanted to Son of the Mask and now Kickin' It Old Skool, Kennedy continues to demonstrate a complete lack of comic chops. On the bright side, audiences are beginning to agree as his starring roles continue to do less and less at the box office. Let's keep up the good work folks. The less people who see Kickin' It Old Skool, the less chance he'll get another starring role. If we continue to work together we can end this plague. Thank you.
