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“The Freshest Kids” Quick Movie Review

Posted on February 9, 2008 by

Thefreshestkids
I just watched the documentary "The Freshest Kids: A History of the B-boy" (2002).   It’s an entertaining introduction to how breakdancing got started in the Bronx in the 1970s.  The documentary intersperses awesome dance footage with interviews with legends of the hip-hop world — from Cool Herc to Ken Swift to Mr. Wiggles to Africa Bambataa. 

Breaking afficionados will appreciate the extras on the DVD, including battle footage, longer interviews, and music videos featuring b-boys.  It’s great to compare the newer generation of b-boys with the original innovators, watching the evolution of steps and styles.

I did find distracting the music video style of the direction, with lots of quick cuts between dance sequences and talking heads and unnecessarily zooming title graphics.  I guess for the MTV generation, you need these kinds of gimmicks to keep them watching. 

And why the hell was Pauley Shore in this movie?  Weird.

That said, I could watch the groundbreaking Rock Steady Crew, particularly Ken Swift, dancing for hours.  They had such rawness and expressiveness in their b-boying, despite the lack of flash and "power-moves."

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