Kippin' It Old Skool: A Review Of Michael Rosenbaum's New Movie
Written by Craig Byrne - KryptonSite Webmaster

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NOTE: Spoilers for "Kickin' It Old Skool" may follow below.

Kickin' It Old Skool hits movie theaters in the United States on Friday, April 27. The movie stars Jamie Kennedy as a young man who entered a coma in the 1980's and awakens in the present day to participate in a breakdancing contest. The contest is hosted by Kennedy's character's childhood rival - Kip Unger, played by Smallville's Lex Luthor himself, Michael Rosenbaum.

Unfortunately, the movie itself is a mixed bag. On the bright side, those of you who love Michael Rosenbaum will definitely enjoy him as Kip. His scenes really steal the show, and like Michael said in his KryptonSite interview, he really is the Billy Zabka type of character that you can't help but hate. It's obvious from watching that Michael had fun strutting his comedic chops and he runs away with some of the best lines of the entire movie. I just hope this is a stepping stone for Michael to take on another comedic project. He'd really be a blast as the smartaleck half of a buddy movie, or something along those lines. While Michael does an excellent job as Lex on Smallville, I know I always enjoy the times when Lex is allowed to be purely evil and a little funny - take "Onyx" or this year's "Justice" as great examples. Fortunately, Kip is both evil and funny... and if not evil, he's just a bit clueless that he's a huge prick.

The other highlight for me is that there are scenes, both visually and in the writing, that appeal to someone like myself who grew up in the 80's. The opening 10 minutes or so filled me with a nostalgic grin. The young actors who played the younger versions of Justin, Jen, and Kip, for example, reminded me of people I went to elementary school with. The set designers were spot on, and I really liked it. If I hadn't known Michael Rosenbaum would be in this movie later, I probably would've preferred it if they just stuck to the 80's. I really appreciated that, though... they succeeded in finding what made that time period memorable without delving into extreme parody as that horrible. short-lived That 80's Show TV series did a few years ago.

Detail was also spent to find toys and knicknacks of the time, such as He-Man, Transformers, and little Smurf figurines.

I enjoyed the movie's soundtrack, too, which featured a few 80's hits.

And now for the bad stuff... because as Jamie Kennedy's character of Justin Schumacher would surely tell you, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum, and what might be right for you, might not be right for some. First, there is the general concept. Maybe I am a stick in the mud, but I don't really find the idea of someone being in a coma for over 20 years particularly funny. Nor do I think there's much humor to be found from someone who is a bit brain damaged trying to be funny. Sure, there are exceptions, such as Austin Powers... but the biggest difference between Austin Powers and Kickin' It Old Skool is that Austin was a bit on the dim side BEFORE he was frozen. I know Jamie Kennedy is a talented guy, but I thought he played this all a bit too... stupidly, and making fun of what could be a serious condition. It's sad because I LOVE the concept of "an 80's kid wakes up today," but I think they really missed some marks there.

Justin's three friends were mostly blocked from my memory, and I couldn't even tell you all of their names without looking them up. I did like Miguel Nunez Jr. as his friend Darnell, but the other two passed the point of being funny within minutes of their introductions. I also really, REALLY could have done without some sequences, such as the scene where two of Justin's friends are groping their fat friend's breasts and pretending he is a woman. I also did not find humor involving throwing up or the repeated incontinence of a homeless man to be funny at all. As happy and nostalgic as I felt to see some 80's stuff revisited, and as funny as Kip Unger was, those uncomfortable moments almost killed the movie for me entirely.

There was talk of some popular 80's celebrities making cameos, and I'd have to say I enjoyed seeing Emmanuel Lewis and especially Alan Ruck of Ferris Bueller's Day Off in their appearances. But I'm also curious and confused, as I thought I heard John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin of Cheers) and Erik Estrada (CHiPs) would be appearing, but I don't remember seeing them in the actual movie at all. That disappointed me a bit. The most smile-inducing cameo, which I won't ruin here, involves a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless in a world of criminals who operate above the law... and his car. That made me VERY happy, though that too led to disappointment as they got the world's worst voice imitation. Would it have really killed them to shell out some bucks to get William Daniels to do it?

Anyway, back to the part you actually care about: Michael Rosenbaum. The ONLY times I heard the man in the theater behind me laughing was when Kip said some of his outrageous things. Kip is such a jerk, and Michael was the perfect choice for him. But, you know what? Yup, I've got to complain again... why wasn't there more of him in this movie? I would have much rather seen Kip making a fool of himself, instead of seeing the fat guy's manboobs. Just saying.

Oh, and can we please have Lex talk to Lana the way that Kip Unger talks to Jen? Just once? Come on, you know you've wanted to see it. Maria Menounos is decent as Jen, by the way... definitely not bad but not "that's the best love interest character on a movie" either.

If you want to go see a movie this weekend that doesn't make you think, then by all means, see Kickin' It Old Skool. If you want to support Michael and give him a good opening weekend, then again, see the movie. If you're over the age of 25 and spent most of your childhood in the 80's, you have a better chance of liking it. But be warned of uncomfortable scenes and various moments of stupidity. Die-hard fans of Michael Rosenbaum will like it, but I'm guessing they (and I) would probably like the movie more later this year if there is any possibility that there are some Kip deleted scenes. At least that way, we can zoom through things like a naked Jamie Kennedy which we'd rather not see, and go right to the good stuff. And, I hope, we can finally see what kind of cameos were planned for Cliff Clavin or Ponch.

I give this one 2 and a half stars out of 5. It's very middle of the road. There's good and there's bad. But you can definitely do much, much worse. I'm glad Michael got the chance to bring the funny to the big screen, and I'm hopeful we get to see his humorous side again sometime soon.

Note: The views of Craig Byrne don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.

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