Rendered comatose for 20 years after a freak breakdancing accident, former child dancer Justin Schumacher (Jamie Kennedy) awakens from his extended repose with no motor skills and the mental capacity of a 12-year-old. So much has changed since Justin lapsed into a coma; not only have people stopped wearing parachute pants, the Internet has connected people in a manner that no child of the 1980s could have ever imagined. Dancing, however, is the one constant that remains as popular as ever. Upon
discovering that his mountainous medical bills have drained mom and dad's bank account and the love of his life (Maria Menounos) is engaged to his lifelong nemesis (Michael Rosenbaum), the breakdancing Rip Van Winkle attempts to reassemble his former dance troupe in hopes of winning back the girl and saving his parents' failing yogurt shop. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Despite some legitimately entertaining dance sequences, no amount of parachute pants can disguise the fact that Kickin' is a very stupid movie, with many more failed jokes than successful ones.
Kennedy is a negligible performer, a hopeless dancer, and his romantic connection to the lovely Menounos is preposterous even by the movie's absurd standards.
The film itself seems lost in a time warp -- even its attitude toward the '80s is out of date considering the ongoing revival in music and fashion from that era.
The reunion of the multi-ethnic Funky Fresh Boys triggers a fusillade of un-PC misfires as the not-so-fab four try to alleviate their personal woes by entering an American Idol-esque dance-troupe contest.
Were the filmmakers really so wedded to every scene they couldn't find 15 minutes to cut? Besides, shouldn't we as a culture being moving on to depleting the comic potential of '90s nostalgia by now?
while Jamie Kennedy's character of Justin is supposed to be an 11-year-old in a 30-year-old's body, it seems he has suffered irreparable brain damage in his coma
There may be a lot of comedy potential in someone from the '80s waking up in the new millennium, but the writers of Kickin' It Old Skool are fairly oblivious to it.
Kickin' It Old Skool aspires to be Big with break dancing, but it falls flat on its spinning head. Even the break dancing gets tired fast, making the film even more tedious to get through.
After cringing through Son of the Mask in 2005, I was convinced that trying to be funny could not get any worse for Jamie Kennedy. ... I was wrong that things couldn't get worse.
The funniest thing about Kickin' It Old Skool, yet another in a long line of not particularly funny Kennedy movies, is how little we actually have advanced since the '80s.
The writers make sure to fill their script with only the most obvious jokes and cultural references so that their star's particular comedic talents will shine brightest and he can work his magic without the risk of causing any audience members to think.
You might think that after Kennedy proved capable of emptying every theater in the civilized world with his last two vehicles someone would have said, 'Enough!' But no.
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