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15 reviews in total

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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Some of Rap's first major players, 25 April 2003

Author: vvanpo (vvanpo@comcast.net) from Renton, WA USA

The storyline is a familiar about trying to make it big and how sometimes that means selling your soul to the devil but find redemption in the end etc. The difference here is many of rap music's early stars take a turn at acting. They do all right. I think that Blair Underwood inspired them to do a decent turn.

The main attraction now is the nostalgia of seeing Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, The Fat Boys and New Edition perform. Also there are cameos from the young Beastie Boys and a skinny LL Cool J.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
If you like old school rap this movie is for you, 12 September 1999
Author: Matt Ellington (matte723) from United States

This is a movie about the struggles of early rap groups trying to make it big in the 80's when rap was not a popular music genre. This is not the most dramatic of movies by any stretch of the imagination, but if you like old school rap acts like RUN-DMC, The Beastie Boys, The Fat Boys, and LL Cool J you will find this movie entertaining. However if you are not familiar with the 80's rap scene you may not be very impressed with this movie. I though it would be a really stupid movie at first, but once I watched it I was impressed.

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Hip Hop Classic, 28 October 2001

Author: DunnDeeDaGreat from Woodbridge, VA

Krush Groove is one of the best rap musicals ever made. The film starring Sheila E.,Run-DMC ,The Fat Boys & Kurtis Blow has great musical numbers and a good storyline.It's one of the first movies I can recall seeing in a theater and I own the vhs tape. Look for cameo's by LL Cool J & New Edition in this classic flick.

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6 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
the most underrated rock n roll movie of the 1980s, 30 April 2000
Author: JimF29 from somewhere

Krush Groove is the most underrated rock n roll movie of the 1980s. Is it the Best music film of the 80s? No that title belongs to Purple Rain. Actually Krush Groove attempts to redo Rain's successful formula, using talented musicians generally playing themselves in a fictitious story with some realistic elements. It actually came out a year or so too early, with rap and hip hop still generally a black phenomenon despite Blondie's #1 pop `Rapture'. (Debbie Harry makes an appearance here portraying a club singer.) The one `Actor' not playing himself was Blair Underwood who played the character Russell Walker (While the REAL Russell Simmons played a stage hand named Crocket)

The story deals with a number of rap artists Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and the Fat boys in their efforts to make it big as hip hop stars. It deals with the good and bad of having a hit record on a small independent record label, competition between two brothers over the heart of a young female singer (Sheila E.), the consequences of borrowing money from a loan shark, the opportunity to sign with a major label and a talent contest looking for new hip hop talent. The contest includes an appearance from New Edition, an all too brief appearance from future superstars The Beastie Boys and an in studio audition from LL Cool J. The film was rated `R' generally for some mild violence and usage of the `F' word. (Six instances where two would automatically mean an `R' rating) It didn't do too hot at the box office. I had stated that the film came out a year or so too early. The reason I stated this was that in 1986, one year following this film's release, Run DMC's cover of Aerosmith's Walk This Way got heavy airplay on white radio, even going to number1 on album rock radio in Aerosmith's homebase of Boston MA. This success opened the door for The Beastie Boys, The Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Will Smith (known at that time as The Fresh Prince) and a large number of other hip hop and rap artists to score BIG on the Pop singles and pop album charts.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Good film for old school Hip-Hop heads., 23 February 2002

Author: myklook-1 from Toronto, Canada

This film isn't an award winner but it is a must see for all Hip Hop historians. Loosely based on the life of producer Russel Simmons this film takes us back to the early days of Hip-Hop when rap was just starting to break into the mainstream. Blair Underwood plays Russel and everyone else (Run DMC, Fat Boys, Sheila E, New Edition, Beastie Boys, L.L. Cool J, etc..) play themselves. I think, if anything, this film gives fans an idea of what it was like for young rappers, producers and other musicians from NYC in the early eighties. I think the film could have been better if it was a little grittier and honest, but if it was than Rap and Hip-Hop may not have blown up the way it did into mainstream culture.

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4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
For fans of '80s rap only, 17 October 2002
Author: app354 from United States

"Krush Groove" features some great performances by Run DMC (including their classic "King of Rock"), the Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, the Beastie Boys, New Edition, and a very young LL Cool J. Unfortunately, without any real plot or characterization, that's all the film really has. If you like hip-hop circa 1985, "Krush Groove" is worth watching; it you don't, then skip it.

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3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Krush Groovin, 19 April 2009

Author: BunninDatPiff420 from Canada(Montreal, Quebec)

I watched the 1985 film Krush Groove yesterday, I must say I really enjoyed it.Now here's the thing about this movie.If you do not like rap, you will probably not enjoy this movie.If you hate very old-school rap(any rap song that came out before 1988), you probably will not like this movie.However, if you like the genre of music, you will probably enjoy this film.I really like this kind of rap.I also like old gangsta rap from the late 80's to late 90's.I also like other types of music such as rock, metal etc.Therefore, I liked Krush Groove.The plot of the film involves a man who is trying to start his own record label, his brother's a member of rap group Run DMC.He starts it after a loan, and it does work, however there is another big record producer who is stealing his artists.He also owes money to the man who originally gave it to him.Meanwhile, a rap group called "The Disco Three"(The Fat Boys), are trying to make it big in the rap game.The movie features music from artists such as Shiela E, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, Fat Boys, LL Cool J etc.If you like old-school hip hop/rap, then Krush Groove is the movie you should see.

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Cheesy and uneven mix in the plotting but great way to see so many new artists of the period, 21 April 2012
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Russell Walker is riding the wave of the hip-hop wave, with the new single from his group Run-DMC getting lots of heat on the street; problem is he just needs a little money to get more prints made to profit on it. With nowhere else to go he turns to a local loan shark to get the money, however it coincides with tensions with his brother Run. Meanwhile, on the outside looking in, the Disco 3 look for a way to get signed.

This film was recommended to me by a fellow user and old-school fan on this site and I made an effort to seek it out despite having never heard of it. The film is essentially a way of getting hot new artists into a film and doubling benefiting by giving them exposure and also getting money from people wanting to see them in a film. It is perhaps of little surprise then that the plotting isn't quite all it could have been. Based very loosely on the early days of Def Jam, this mostly fictionalised film can't decide quite what it wants to be. On one hand we the drama with Walker, in debt, in conflict with his brother Run over matters business and personal while also up to his neck in the sort of debts that get legs broken. These sections are handled seriously and contain swearing and a tough tone. By contrast we also have sections with the Fat Boys (partially here as the Disco 3) where the tone is much, much lighter as they mug around and play up the comedic side of their personas. These two aspects sit really uneasily beside one another – alone neither is great (although neither is bad) but together they just seem a very odd contrast and give the feeling of the film really not being sure what to do in terms of tone and story. Sometimes it works but too often it is a little cheesy and uneven and it makes it hard to enjoy as a story-driven film.

On the plus side, sitting between these two aspects is the music – lots of music. Shelia E, Kurtis Blow, Run-DMC, New Edition, the Fat Boys, Beastie Boys and a really impacting introduction for LL Cool J – all of them are given time to do a little bit within the context of the plot. LL makes the biggest splash with Radio, but Shelia E is great throughout and the other artists all please and satisfy. While the film may not have been very steady in terms of plot, with the music it totally knows what it wants to do. As actors I was pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of the cast were comfortable in front of the camera. The cast is led by Blair Underwood making his acting debut and he is pretty good with the more serious parts of the film. Run is also very natural and strong in the film. Shelia E is great on stage and great with the lighter stuff, but when the love interest stuff starts the material is weak and she seems stiff – in real contrast to her being on stage, making it stand out more. The Fat Boys are pretty funny throughout and really it was only Kurtis Blow that sounded like he was reading his lines off 20 foot high placards.

Overall then this is not a great film in terms of tone and plot but it does enough to avoid being a bad film in the way many similar ones have been. It seems to help that, although cashing in on the genre to a certain extent; it is being done from the inside rather than an outsider seeking to exploit others' success. The music is what it is all about though, and fans of this genre and period will get a lot of stuff to love here – ultimately this is who the film is aimed at and the target audience won't be disappointed.

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Keeping it Real, 13 August 2008

Author:

A lot of good review comments, so I'll just add. This movie could well be classed a historical in some respects, and is actually shown in some colleges as part of curriculum. It is based on the true and personal story of Run DMC, The Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, Sheila E, and others breaking out rap music for the first time to the mainstream audiences against convention and against those who would view rap as non-music and a fad. It showcases the music as a true underground phenomena; fun, creative, positive, and energetic; embraced by urban youth eager to rebel. Poor, fat, whatever, just being yourself for a change was enough for you to make a go of it and be successful. There are 12 musical productions in the film and some showstopper performances by Sheila E (coached by Prince for this film) especially. This movie was based on real events and the roles played by the people themselves who lived them. In that sense it may not have a Hollywood calibre cast and complicated plot, but that wasn't the point of this film. This film was meant to showcase the struggles of a music, the struggles of artists in an emerging genre, and show people where it was at in 1985. It did just that, capturing the heart and soul of hip-hop, where it all is rooted, free from excessive profanity, free from guns and gangsterism; just go out and have fun, stand tall, express yourself, forget the nay-sayers, and throw down the creativity. And the rest is history.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Awesome, 27 February 2011

Author: zetes from Saint Paul, MN

Hip-hop musical about the semi-fictionalized early days of Def Jam Recordings. Blair Underwood stars as Russell Walker (Simmons in real life), but all of the musical acts are portrayed by the actual people. This includes Run DMC, Sheila E., the Fat Boys, and Kurtis Blow, who make up the bulk of the plot (which is actually not too bad for what amounts to a series of musical performances). New Edition, LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys, as well as a few other forgotten artists, also appear briefly. Of course these acts were all on Def Jam, so the movie is little more than a commercial for these musicians, but who cares? The music is freaking awesome, and there's a ton of it. It's corny as Hell, but it left an enormous smile on my face. Just try to watch it without overdosing on giddiness during the Fat Boys' "All You Can Eat" number. You can't! It's impossible!

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