Exhumed: Jean-Claude Van Damme in "Breakin'" [1984]

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In their “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike normally give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. However, “Exhumed” will focus on the first (or very early) credits of established actors, giving their roles the GBV treatment.

For this installment, it’s Jean-Claude Van Damme in Breakin'.

Intro

Kelly (Lucinda Dickey) is a classically trained jazz dancer who's tired of warding off her amorous teacher and hungry for a new outlet. When she befriends street dancers Ozone (Adolfo "Shabba-Doo" Quinones) and Turbo (Michael "Boogaloo Shrimp" Chambers), she's blown away by their unique and original moves. She soon volunteers to help them defeat a rival group of street dancers, learning break-dancing skills along the way and sharing some moves of her own. At one point our trio dances at the beach and that is where our subject enters the production.

The Details

Van Damme’s role as the smooth, mysterious breakdancer is a thing of beauty. His acting range is, well, non-existent. His portrayal of a guy who wants to dance but can’t quite seem to grasp that the whole point of breakdancing is... to breakdance, is a feat of epic proportions. The man’s precision in the art of absolutely not breaking any actual dance moves is truly a sight to behold.

The physicality of his performance is what really sets him apart. Forget about any nuance or emotion; Van Damme is all about the muscle-flexing, the awkward grins, and clapping like a fool waiting for a treat. Seriously, watching him feels like watching someone trying to defuse a bomb with a sledgehammer—just way too much force for such a delicate art form.

The Verdict

Jean-Claude Van Damme in Breakin’ is like the broccoli of action movies—an essential part of the 80s culture that nobody quite knows how to digest properly. But hey, he does add a certain flair to the proceedings, even if that flair is mostly just his confused expression as he clumsily bounces through what was, at the time, the height of breakdancing innovation.

Breakin’