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Knights of the City
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| Year: |
1986
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Director: |
Dominic Orlando
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| Stars: |
Leon Isaac Kennedy, Nicholas Campbell, John Mengatti, Janine Turner, Stoney Jackson, Dino Henderson, Curtis Lema, Mr. Freeze, Jeff Moldovan, Sonny Anthony, Jay Amor, Eddie Guy, Michael Ansara, Wendy Barry, Smokey Robinson, Kurtis Blow, K.C., The Fat Boys
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| Genre: |
Drama, Action, Music |
| Rating: |
  4 (from 1 vote) |
| Review: |
Troy (Leon Isaac Kennedy) is the leader of the Royals, one of the toughest gangs in the city and a budding pop group into the bargain. However, they have their work cut out defending their neighbourhood from their rivals led by Carlos (Jeff Moldovan) who are trying to muscle in on their territory, mainly by intimidating the residents the Royals have sworn to protect (with financial incentive). The police are no help, and indeed are on the take from Carlos and his thugs, so often Troy finds himself a victim of cops pulling him up on spurious charges. But one night in the cells can change a lot...
Knights of the City was the brainchild of Kennedy, who penned the script as a vehicle for himself off the back of his fame earned from the Penitentiary movies and his DJ work, but the results were not welcomed with open arms, in fact many were of the opinion this was a ridiculous, unfocused mishmash of would-be hip and painfully off the mark pleas to the youth market to take Kennedy seriously, as actor, writer and of course singer. Which may be true, but seen from a twenty-first century perspective it could only mean one thing: two hundred percent eighties cheese, and the biggest helping you would want.
For cult eighties aficionados, this was an unsung favourite, and would likely be as big in the field as Breakin' and of course Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo if it were better known. Not that it was as slick as those - no, not even - but in its shambles of aims for the lucrative zeitgeist you could chortle along with it and enjoy it just as much for parody as you could if you took it deadly seriously. Look at the guest stars they secured the services of: The Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow in jail, begging the question why would not only those four be in the cells, but why at the same time? And yes, they did perform a rap because it was that kind of movie. Also, K.C. of K.C. and the Sunshine Band (Sunshine Band not pictured) in a recording studio, grooving away in the background.
Obviously the problems of Troy meant more than hearing that singing star attempt to regain the limelight, but the biggest star here was Smokey Robinson, judging the talent contest the Royals enter at the encouragement of Brooke (Janine Turner, a long way before Northern Exposure, never mind Christian yoga) who is the daughter of record company boss Michael Ansara, the man who happened to hear The Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow when he was in jail for drunken behaviour. Got that? Though why he didn't give his card to the actual performers of the music and not the Royals who were doing very little but cavort is a mystery, one of many in this movie. Anyway, the gang show up at the company to add to an already overstuffed narrative and Troy and Brooke fall in lurve.
Which is news to Troy's girlfriend Jasmine (Wendy Barry) who for some reason also gets a number at the talent contest, making that a competition with two entrants for Smokey to judge. It was worth mentioning that Sammy Davis Jr was cut out of the action, heaven knows what he would have gotten up to (surely not breakdancing, of which there are spates throughout?), and also this was funded by an actual gangster, something it had in common with such notable efforts as most of the seventies American porn industry. At least the tunes were better here, though only fitfully: Kennedy's rather desperately tries to emulate Michael Jackson, whose Bad video appeared to be a major inspiration to the whole movie, but where Mike wore a red leather jacket with black trimmings, Leon sports a black leather jacket with red trimmings - well, that's completely different. As if that weren't enough, he also displayed his action move credentials with gang fights topping and tailing the plot. He later turned to a career in the church - little wonder, after this fiasco.
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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