ThiefHott
Too much of everything
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Isbel
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
dunmore_ego
When people make movies as bad as this, do they attend their premieres? I really wanna know. How do they show their faces? I guess "comedies" like KICKIN' IT OLD SCHOOL must appeal to some kind of illiterate unschooled trailer-trash drool-toothed dipsticks, otherwise somebody fellated some major pole to get this greenlighted.Was it the minimal "draw" of comedians Jamie Kennedy and Bobby Lee (both naturally funny guys, but atrocious in this movie)? Was it the anachronistic break dancing craze, a proved cash cow in the distant past? Was it that comet that passed near Earth and birthed a two-headed calf? The fish-out-of-water premise always has potential: Justin (Alexander Calvert), a hot young breakdancer in the 80s, lands on his head and goes into a coma. He wakes 20 years later (retaining his 14-year-old mentality, which explains why he is now Jamie Kennedy) and reunites his break dancing team from the old days - Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Bobby Lee and Aris Alvarado, losers all, who can't dance any more, let alone act. They enter a dance comp for some inane reason, but Justin's agenda is to show his ex-girl (Maria Menounos) he can still kick it, so she will leave her asshole boyfriend (Michael Rosenbaum) for him. It could have worked, had this movie hired an actual director, actual writers and actual actors.What irks about KICKIN' IT OLD SCHOOL is that, like many movies of its lowbrow ilk, stupidity and non-talent is lauded. It is not a bad thing that Our Heroes "win" the day, but that they win without any effort; they win when others are so clearly superior; they win by being the biggest retards on stage - and that is supposedly how you win. No, kids. It's not. Even this bad movie (and others like it) is not made by people who DON'T know what they're doing. Yet this movie tells us a competition can be won if you don't know what you're doing; it tells us that all those years of practice for the other competitors counts for nothing; it tells us you can be a virtuoso at a craft without going through the rigors of becoming a virtuoso. (Like those bogus exercise-machine ads that claim, "You don't even break a sweat!" Hey, great! No pain AND gain!) And that's entirely unacceptable.The funny thing about this movie (--there's something funny about this movie?) is that Bobby Lee's "Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto" bit looks hilarious in the trailers, in the film, like a Chinese burn. So too with the down-wid-it tongue-in-cheek title, all the failed gags, embarrassing plot points and mistimed bits. Nothing works outside of the thirty-second trailer.What almost became an Olympic sport in the 80s has been marginalized in the 2000s, but the people who still do it, do it extremely well. And that's the only redeeming factor in this movie - the dancing. Dated though it is stylistically, we appreciate the astounding expertise of the kids who can still jam, break, lock, snap, crackle and pop it.Unfortunately, expertise is something Jamie Kennedy and his crew of jackasses lack, so we know how it's going to end - yes, he wins the dance comp, gets the girl, and somewhere, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Gregory Hines are turning in their graves.--Review by Poffy The Cucumber (for Poffy's Movie Mania).
Lucien Lessard
As a young boy, Justin (Alexander Calvert) felt down hard on the floor trying to do some fancy break dancing for a talent show at school. Twenty years has passed, Justin (Jamie Kennedy) woke up from his coma. Although he still has the mind of a twelve year old trapped in a 32 year old body. He finds out that his parents (Christopher McDonald and Debra Jo Rapp) might lose their home, after trying to pay off Justin's medical bills. He decides to get back his old dance crew (Miguel A. Nunez, Jr., Bobby Lee and Avis Alvarado) to help him win back his parents house. Justin discovers that his long time crush (Maria Menounos) is marring the bully (Michael Rosenbaum), he truly hated. But Justn hasn't realized yet that music has changed and a whole new generation of fancy foot-steppers are far superior. Since he missed two decades, it is time to grow up... a little.Directed by Harv Glazer (Bitten) made an silly comedy that has some goofy laughs. Kennedy offers more charm that he did in "Malibu's Most Wanted". But the differences between the two, his early starring role had a much slicker look. It will certainly remind you of the film "Big" and other break dancing movies of the 1980's. The movie has a cool retro 80's soundtrack and some of the dance moves are good. "Kickin It Old Skool" is not a great comedy but it's not boring either and acting or the quality of the feature looks truly average. But it does offers some laughs and probably fans of Kennedy will enjoy this one best. Some amusing cameos as well. Super 35. (*** 1/2 out of *****).
gavin6942
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?
ryan-539
Yep! "Stuuuuupid", thats what you got to be to go see this piece of junk.Acting -> Stinks Direction -> Stinks Jokes -> so badly setup you see them coming a mile away, some oldies might smile a couple of times thinking back... but thats it, nothing really funny the whole damn movie.Overall, made really cheap and it shows.I am willing to bet my, and my future kids testicles in saying this is going to flop SO badly because you have to be an utter moron to like a movie like this, even taking into consideration that there are many morons out there... this would be too much for a large majority of them too.
