Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Disturbing yet enthralling

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Miss McKenzie (Newmar) and her sniveling sidekick Percival "Percy" Granville (???) run an upper-crust dance and music conservatory. When badass, rebellious dance instructor David "Moon" Bronson (Fields) invades their precious sanctuary with his rogue ways, McKenzie and Percy try a number of underhanded means to force him to leave the academy. Meanwhile, Vince (LaChance) is a guy from the wrong side of the tracks who can't seem to hold down a job, but he's a good guy with a passion for dance, so he gets accepted into the academy. He tries to strike up a romance with fellow dancer Jana (Gorg) but naturally it has its rocky moments...will their love survive? On top of all that, Moon and singer/songwriter Paula (Nichols) begin a professional as well as personal relationship, but apparently teachers canoodling with students is against the rules, and Percy threatens to blow the whistle on him. All of this romance, intrigue, and of course, dancing, is all leading up to the big, final performance in front of a huge audience, including the board of directors. Will these hopefuls strut their stuff enough to have a happy outcome? Find out today! If you just discovered this movie on our site from looking through the archives, you might be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon a long-lost Punchfighter. But here at Comeuppance Reviews, we also discuss 80's dance movies, and Body Beat seems to be a piece of the puzzle left behind by Breakin', Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo, Body Rock, and Dance Or Die. Or, to quote the back of the VHS box (released by Vidmark): "Flashier than "Flashdance", sexier than "Dirty Dancing", and more fun than "Fame", Body Beat is a high spirited delight featuring some of the hottest original music and brightest new talent ever to hit the big screen." Indeed. All that being said, in terms of it's "80's-ness", Body Beat ranks highly, and despite some filler and some scenes that should have been trimmed down for excessive length, it is an enjoyable outing.Julie Newmar is decent enough as the stuffy headmistress, Fields plays the Roy Kieffer-like instructor with aplomb, and Paula Nichols is appealing as the Debbie Gibson-like singer. Add to that some great hair and outfits, along with some wacky comedy, and you have this movie. They even found time for the classic Barfight. Of course, the dancing is the main highlight, and the final dance number is very impressive. The music by Guido and Maurizio DeAngelis is quite impressive, but that's no surprise, they've been making awesome music ever since the 70's. Just check out any of their scores, especially their Poliziotteschi work. And it wouldn't be an 80's soundtrack without some blaring sax solos. Not very surprisingly, almost all of the songs on the soundtrack feature the words "love" or "dance" in them. But who's asking for subtlety? There are some bizarre moments as well, just look at the scene where a character is trying to teach aerobics to chickens - and the chickens are wearing custom-made sweatpants! Where else are you going to see that? Plus, a male dancer wears a wrestling singlet so skimpy, it can only be properly defined as a "halflet". Also of note is that Serge Rodnunsky plays one of the dancers, and he later went on to direct Paper Bullets (2000). In movie marquee spottings, we see Crocodile Dundee (1986) was the big box-office hit when Body Beat was being filmed. We can only imagine video store patrons renting Body Beat if all the other aforementioned big dance movies were rented-out at the time. It's hard to picture a video store-goer in the 80's consciously choosing this over a myriad of other choices. But if they did, they would find a light, almost inconsequential affair that's refreshingly inoffensive.Apparently a sequel was made the next year, called City Rhythms (AKA Dance To Win), but we cannot confirm whether this actually received a VHS release. Regardless, Body Beat is a pleasantly typical 80's dance-fest.

How is this Movie a Cheesy Movie VagrantFilms? It's probably One of the Best Dance-Music-oriented Movies of the '80s I've ever Seen.The Main Characters are all Very Talented Dancers: Steve LaChance & Tony D.Fields to begin with, the Music has Strong Hooks and though the dialogs and the ideas presented are typically '80s (and that's probably 'cause it was Shot in the '80s.. Dah!!), it's very Funny and Entertaining and I don't even think it's a 'Staying Alive' rip-off as the Plot is Completely Different.Never quite became successful though, but I saw it the First Time in the Summer of '89 when I was 9, and I watched it today for the 1st time after 20 years and My Opinion hasn't changed at all! I'd recommend this movie to anyone who's looking for a Genuine Production exuding Positive Emotions and Challenge and not the Negative Crap that's been coming out for the past 10 years or so.Actually, I Wish I Could Go Back to those Days...

Actually, this is good viewing. The script goes a bit off the rails, and the acting isn't brilliant (although there are a couple of good actors in it), but its primarily a dance film, and anyone who loves dance should see this. The dance talent is 10 out of 10, and some of the guys are gorgeous!! On the dancing side of things, a lot of work has been put into this film by the dancers themselves. Just a shame they haven't been more successful. If you've seen Salsa or Lambada and thought it was your sort of thing, then this film is worth watching. Not many of the cast are household names (well, practically none if I'm honest!!) but they deserve more recognition; Steve La Chance was impressive. The only totally wooden actress in my opinion was the middle aged headmistress of the school, with the curly hair. So mundane, I cant even remember her real name. God knows what casting were thinking of; she lets the whole film down.

Certainly this is a bad movie, but gosh darn it I spent many an hour in my early teens watching and rewatching it. I always dreamed i could perform one of those cheesy fairytale romance dance number and be whisk someone way. And then there is a real gulity pleasure sappy romance ballad that is made completely for the sheer purpose of making girls and young fags (like moi) swoon with Glee!!!