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May 8, 2008
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
Should I see it?
Nope.


Short Review: A whitewashing “true story” movie stemming from a critically acclaimed documentary about the birth of a dumb “sport”.



The writer of this film, Stacy Peralta made a documentary called Dogtown and Z-Boys in 2001. It is one of the better documentaries of that year. This fictionalization of the same story presented in Peralta's documentary, shows a gaggle of wastoids in Venice Beach, CA in the 1970’s as they drop their surfboards in favor of skateboards. The actions of these boys and their handlers led to the broad marketing of skateboarding throughout the U.S.

To water this down, this film and the documentary would have us think of these troubled kids as heroes and legends. While each has the relatively useless talent of performing interesting tricks on skateboards, they are hardly legends outside of their specific group. To look at them honestly, they were nothing more than marketing tools. This film does a good job of showing that aspect of the “legend” of the Zephyr skating team. From the inception of the team, to the wide commercialization that it spawned, this whole exercise was executed for one purpose: get easily led kids to think skateboarding was cool so they would get their parents to buy them a board and the accessories that comes with it.

While I enjoyed much of this quirky and uneven film, I just can’t get myself to take it too seriously. Having seen how well done the original documentary was and knowing that this film skips some pretty significant pieces of the actual story (many of the major players are missing or reduced in their prominence,) kills the buzz a bit. Then there’s that whole thing about not being able to pretend skateboarding is actually a sport. Please, grow up and be serious. Skating is a skill, not a sport.

Overall, this is an interesting little film but thanks to over-acting teenage thespians and a disjointed plot line, I cannot recommend it too highly. The only performance of note is Heath Ledger's as shop owner Skip. Ledger's offers some humor and a grounded performance in this movie littered with pedestrian acting.

If its there in front of you and you can see it for free, knock yourself out. If someone wants you to pay to see it, knock them out.


Related Reviews:
Other odd sports movies
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Murderball (2005)


Other Critic's Reviews:
The Cinema Source
Film Jerk

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posted by Michelle Obama's Left Nut at 8:25 PM




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