{"id":6767,"date":"2024-10-25T10:50:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T14:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=6767"},"modified":"2024-10-25T10:50:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T14:50:00","slug":"krush-groove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/25\/krush-groove\/","title":{"rendered":"Krush Groove"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Krush Groove <\/strong>(1985)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Musical-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 95 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (language, violence, some sexual content)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Michael Schultz\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Ralph Farquhar\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: David Lombard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Ernest Dickerson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 25, 1985 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Starring: Blair Underwood, Run-DMC (Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell), Sheila E., Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys (Mark “Prince Markie Dee” Morales, Damon “Kool Rock-Ski” Wimbley, Darren “Buff Love” Robinson), New Edition (Ronnie DeVoe, Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell), Lisa Gay Hamilton, Rick Rubin, Richard Gant, The Beastie Boys (Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Adam “MCA” Yauch, Michael “Mike D” Diamond), LL Cool J, Full Force (Brian “B-Fine” George, Paul Anthony George), Karen Moss, Daniel Simmons, Chad Eliot, Galaxy, Heidi Smith.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $11M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0***<\/p>\n

\u00a0What if I start my review of Krush Groove<\/strong> with a little freestyling? Yes, I think that would be appropriate.<\/p>\n

I’m the King of Flicks, there is none higher! Sucker MGs (Movie Guys) should call me sire! To burn my website, you must use fire! I won’t stop watchin’ till I retire!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Admittedly, I’m not a rapper, but Krush Groove<\/strong> inspired me to try my hand at it. In 1985, rap was an up-and-coming musical style. In the vernacular of rap pioneers, it was fresh and it was def! That\u2019s how audiences saw Krush Groove<\/strong> when it hit theaters in October \u201985. It\u2019s loosely based on the inception of the Def Jam record label and the hardships faced by the artists and studio founders before their meteoric rise to the top of the charts.<\/p>\n

Russell Walker (Underwood, Just Cause), a character based on Russell Simmons, is an up-and-coming record producer and his label Krush Groove (standing in for Def Jam) has just released “The King of Rock”, a hit single by Run-DMC. A hit record is the worst thing that could have happened to them according to co-producer Rick Rubin (playing himself). They don’t have the money to press more records. After being turned down by his own father and the bank, Russell secures funding from loan shark Jay B (Gant, Rocky V). Run-DMC quickly becomes the hottest act in the underground rap scene.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In a parallel storyline, a trio of obese high schoolers calling themselves \u201cThe Disco Three\u201d wants to be rap stars. Success keeps eluding them until they change their name to The Fat Boys. Rivalry rears its ugly head in the form of a subplot involving Russell and little brother Run competing for the heart of R&B singer Sheila E.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Meanwhile, things aren\u2019t going so well at Krush Groove Records. Their two top acts, Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow, sign with another label in order to advance their careers. It\u2019s a severe financial setback for Russell. Unable to pay back his loan, the shark sends his guys (R&B group Full Force) to \u201ccollect\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I saw Krush Groove<\/strong> opening weekend at a Saturday afternoon showing at the City Line Theater. It was a packed house and I was literally the ONLY white person in attendance. Everybody seemed to be having a great time and so was I even though I wasn\u2019t familiar with most of the artists. I only knew of New Edition; they had the hit song \u201cCool It Now\u201d the year before. They perform \u201cMy Secret\u201d, just one of several good songs heard throughout the movie. Krush Groove <\/strong>has one of the best soundtracks of the 80s. It also features many electrifying performances by the musicians that make up the cast. Sheila E., a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Prince, performs \u201cHolly Rock\u201d and \u201cA Love Bizarre\u201d. Run-DMC\u2019s numbers include \u201cKing of Rock\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s Like That\u201d and \u201cCan You Rock It Like This\u201d. The Fat Boys do a great comical number \u201cAll You Can Eat\u201d at a Sbarro buffet. The Beastie Boys, who show up for one scene, do \u201cShe\u2019s On It\u201d. Blow sings \u201cIf I Ruled the World\u201d. LL Cool J, in a cameo, busts a rhyme called \u201cI Can\u2019t Live Without My Radio\u201d. The performances are all lively and the music is just great. Remember, this praise comes from somebody who generally doesn\u2019t like rap.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I’ve talked a lot about the music in Krush Groove<\/strong> but what about the other components? The acting is actually pretty good. To be fair, the artists are playing themselves so it doesn’t require too much effort of their part. It works to their advantage that screenwriter Ralph Farquhar takes the time to develop their characters. He gives us a good sense of each group member\u2019s individual personality. Kool Rock-Ski of The Fat Boys doesn\u2019t care about fame and success; he only cares about the music. Russell is shown to be somewhat complex. It\u2019s implied that all he wants to do is please his father (Daniel Simmons), a minister who suggests that God is testing his son which is why he won\u2019t lend him the money he needs. In the role, Underwood does fine work. Sheila E. shows real potential in her first acting venture. The Fat Boys are hilarious.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The plot of Krush Groove<\/strong> is basic and formulaic. The drama dealing with betrayal, loyalty, love and the price of fame is hardly original; we\u2019ve seen it countless times. However, it\u2019s compelling enough to hold the audience\u2019s attention until the next number. What makes Krush Groove <\/strong>fresh is its setting in the New York rap scene of the mid-80s. It\u2019s interesting to observe how much different the genre was then. It was fun with artists rapping about things like sneakers, boom boxes and the love of food. It\u2019s a reminder that rap wasn\u2019t always profanity-filled garbage about sex, violence and glorifying the criminal lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Director Michael Schultz (Car Wash) does his usual good job. He has a genuine feel for the tone and feel of urban settings. The characters in Krush Groove<\/strong> feel authentic. The street slang they use never comes off as forced or rehearsed. It hits all the right notes in this respect. So what if the story is completely predictable? We were never promised anything other than a fun musical in which popular rap artists put on a show. Isn\u2019t that the point of a musical? The joy of the music is infectious. In fact, I feel another impromptu performance coming on.<\/p>\n

Whose house?! RUN’S HOUSE!!! I said, WHOSE HOUSE?! RUN’S HOUSE!!!<\/p>\n

Everybody say “FAT BOYS!” FAT BOYS!!!<\/p>\n

You see, I told you.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krush Groove (1985)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Musical-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 95 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (language, violence, some sexual content)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Michael Schultz\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Ralph Farquhar\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: David Lombard\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Ernest Dickerson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: October 25, 1985 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Starring: Blair Underwood, Run-DMC (Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Jason “Jam-Master Jay” Mizell), Sheila E., Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys (Mark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musical"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Krush-Groove-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6767"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7148,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6767\/revisions\/7148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}