Rappin’ (1985) Cannon/Musical-Comedy-Drama RT: 93 minutes Rated PG (language, violence, some suggestive content) Director: Joel Silberg Screenplay: Adam Friedman and Robert Jay Litz Music: Michael Linn Cinematography: David Gurfinkel Release date: May 10, 1985 (US) Cast: Mario Van Peebles, Tasia Valenza, Charles Flohe, Eriq La Salle, Melvin Plowden, Richie Abanes, Kadeem Hardison, Leo O’Brien, Rony Clanton, Ruth Jaroslow, Michael Esihos, Anthony Bishop, Frederic Mao, Rutanya Alda, Brandi Freund, Eyde Byrde, Debra Greenfield, David Butler, Harry Goz, Scott Peck, Ice-T. Box Office: $2.8M (US)
Rating: ***
Following the success of Beat Street and Breakin’, New World Pictures threw their hat into the ring with their own breakdance picture Body Rock. The craze reached its inevitable end by the time Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo hit theaters. The next big urban thing was rap music. Cannon was first out of the gate with Rappin’, a low-budget rap musical from Joel Silberg (Breakin’). It beat Krush Groove into theaters by five months.
Set in the mean streets of Pittsburgh, the protagonist is an ex-con named John Hood (Peebles, New Jack City), better known as “Rappin’ Hood” to his friends and neighbors. This should give you at least a vague idea where the story is headed. He’s back in town after serving an 18-month stretch for assault. Things aren’t exactly the same as he left them. Namely, his best girl Dixie (Valenza, My Demon Lover) has taken up with rival gang leader Duane (Flohe, The Delta Force), a former associate who took John’s place as the baddest dude in town after he went away. He does everything he can to provoke John into fighting him. Why? Because he’s the antagonist, that’s why.
For his part, John just wants to go straight. He’s only interested in looking out for younger brother Allan (O’Brien, The Last Dragon) and hanging out with his old crew- Ice (La Salle, Coming to America), Fats (Plowden), Richie (Abanes) and Moon (Hardison, A Different World). He finds new purpose after learning that a greedy developer (Goz, Mommie Dearest) is trying to force residents out of their homes so he can buy up their property. He sends lackey Cedric (Clanton, The Education of Sonny Carson) to do dirty jobs like shutting off utilities and nailing eviction notices to front doors. When that fails, he hires Duane and his gang to intimidate the folks into leaving. It’s up to Rappin’ Hood and his band of merry homeboys to set things straight not with violence, but with the unifying magic of rapping.
Naturally, Rappin’ has a show biz angle of sorts. Dixie works at a recording studio. John’s ability to spontaneously come up with rap lyrics comes to the attention of her boss (Butler, Prey for the Hunter) who’s always on the lookout for new acts. He wants to sign John immediately, but he has more on his mind than signing a contract.
Rappin’ is the type of musical where everybody, even the oldsters, knows how to rock a rhyme and do it frequently. It’s an updated variation of the musicals that were popular in the 30s. Now for a brief history lesson. [Insert groans here] During the Great Depression of the 30s, the cinema was one of the few escape routes people had from their bleak realities. Musicals were especially popular. What better way to cheer up a gloomy situation than breaking into song and dance in elaborately-staged numbers. The characters in Rappin’ face poverty on a daily basis with their rundown homes and lack of money. It’s not a good thing when the most successful business in the neighborhood is a pawn shop that specializes in stolen property. Much like their 30s counterparts, the characters break into rap to alleviate the misery of their existence.
I’m not a rap fan, but I do like the older stuff. Some of the music in Rappin’ is quite good. It isn’t exactly Top 40 material. It’s mostly a bunch of quickie numbers made specifically for the movie. There’s one song that’s especially good though. It’s called “First Love Never Dies”. Performed by Eugene Wilde and Joanna Gardner, it’s prominently featured in a scene where Dixie stares pensively into space at work, torn between bad boy Duane and true love John. One treats her like property; the other cares about her. Who would you choose? ANYWAY, it’s a beautiful song. It SHOULD have been a hit. I also like “Born to Love” by Claudja Barry. A young Ice-T appears briefly performing “Killer”. There’s a humorous impromptu number “Snack Attack” aimed at their rotund, food-loving friend Fats. Of course, let’s not forget the climactic scene where John and his crew rap their way through a zoning commission meeting. The cheesy lyrics say it all- “Can’t stop, won’t stop, climbing that mountain ‘till we reach the top!” The movie ends on a high note with the entire cast rapping about the lessons they learned in the past 90 minutes.
Producers Yoram Globus and Menahem Golan rarely put a lot of money into their productions and Rappin’ is no exception. This movie is cheap. It was filmed on a few square blocks in Pittsburgh. It doesn’t have a big name cast. The biggest name in the cast is Peebles who co-starred in Exterminator 2 the previous year. The acting in Rappin’ is amateurish at best. Van Peebles makes a decent enough hero. His love scenes with Valenza are nice. She’s pretty, but she can’t act. The so-called tough gang members look like they stepped right off the set of a cheesy music video. Either that or they’re cast-offs from Body Rock. The worst of the bunch is Flohe who overacts in a big way with his exaggerated facial expressions and faux tough-guy dialogue. He’s almost the comic relief. It’s interesting to see early performances from future stars like La Salle and Hardison. Who knew then they’d find success in later years with major roles in popular TV shows like ER and A Different World?
The characters are as standard as the plot. It’s essentially a collection of clichés, but there’s something nonetheless entertaining about Rappin’. It’s harmless, feel-good entertainment meant to leave the viewer smiling at the end. Despite the impoverished surroundings, it’s not the least bit realistic. Even the youngest viewers won’t believe it. It’s 99.5% pure fluff with 0.5% urban grittiness.
I have an affinity for B-movies from the 80s. When I see the Golan-Globus brand name on the poster, I know I’m in for a good time low-budget style. Rappin’ fits this classification perfectly. It’s cheap and silly, but it’s a lot of fun too. It asks little more of the viewer that forgetting their troubles for 90 minutes and succumbing to the feel-goodness. I think I can manage that. Can you?
