There was a trend of dance movies in the mid-80s, led by Cannon Films’ Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo. Somewhat lost in the shuffle was 1985’s Fast Forward, which turned 40 this past weekend.
Directed by the great Sidney Poitier, Fast Forward follows a dance troupe called “The Adventurous Eight” as they arrive in New York City from Ohio for a national dance competition. As you might expect, the movie featured tons of dance numbers set to the movie’s soundtrack, which was produced by Quincy Jones and Tom Bahler. “Survive” is arguably the most memorable song, as it plays during a scene where The Adventurous Eight crash a fancy dinner event, but “Do You Want it Right Now” by Siedah Garrett was the movie’s main single. Garrett is a Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated songwriter and backing vocalist, and she had a solo career with two albums. “Do You Want it Right Now” reached #3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music chart and #63 on the R&B chart. A music video was also produced to promote the movie and song, which you can check out below.
