Just
as a quick preamble, those reading this review should know that I’m not some
kind of movie guru like Adam Mast. On the other hand, I have been skating for
eight years and am the biggest skate nerd I know. I know. I know everything from
the chemical compound of riser pads to the first skate shoe to feature an air
pocket, so let’s do this. The Lords of Dogtown is getting mixed, if mostly
favorable reviews, but since I’m dead in the center of the movie’s target
audience my opinion may come from a different slant than Ebert and Roeper and
their bunch, so just bare with me.
First
of all, I remember reading about the idea for this movie years ago in Thrasher
right after Dogtown and Z-boys launched the legendary band of Hessians into mild
super-star status. I always suspected that Lords would be whack and cheesy since
being “X-TREME” and drinking Mountain Dew were the only things that
Hollywood really seemed to gleen from the cinematic skateboarding experience.
It also frightened me that, in the beginning Fred Durst was involved with the
project. Happily, that clown got canned, he would have figured out a way to bung
it up.
So finally
after years of Hollywood horseshit, Lords Of Dogtown is here. As I mentioned before
I’m no authority on film, so I don’t know all the actors names. The
same woman who directed Thirteen directed this film. It’s obvious that she
wanted to really capture the crazy antics and bad ass attitudes of the kids, but
at times she went too far over the top with all this - so much so that it was
a little embarassing. Too much Extreme makes jerks of dull boys.
True
there was the occasional example of over-acting, but what really undermined the
authenticity of the film was the bogus (inaccurately protrayed) skating sequences
that really made me want to hide my face in my arms. First off, in the opening
scene when Jay Adams rolls in off a roof, barefoot, in a wet suit, holding a surfboard
and landing in harsh asphalt is totally dumb. I’ve seen some gnarly shit
go down in my day, but that was retarded. Another whopper of a blunder was Tony
Alva’s contest winning acid drop off a balcony. I’ve never heard of
him doing this before, but the durability of skateboard trucks in the 70s could
barely handle a drop off a picnic table, leave alone this ridiculous lie of a
stunt. There were more out of place tricks (wallies, wall-rides, and Hippie jumps)
in the movie that make it exciting to watch for the average person, but in the
eyes of a knowledgeable skateboarder they just caused eyes to roll.
I
have to hand it to the casting people though for actually finding real pro and
amateur skaters to do the stunt work. One of the most obvious skaters for me to
point out was Don “the Nuge” Nguyen, who plays the vibrant Shogo Kobu.
“The flash in the pan” rep for Birdhouse Skateboards (Tony Hawk’s
company) Griffith Collins was stunt double for Jay Adams (with his long hair)
while the behemoth pool monster John Ponts shredded the bowls as the (bald) Jay.
The modern day acid hippie and pro Adam Alfaro suited up for the Tony Alva stunts.
Also a lot of the original Z-boys and older skaters make cameos too: The actor
Jay Adams hands the real Jay Adams a beer at a party, Bob Biniak is the angry
restaurant manager, Stacy Peralta is directing himself in the Charlie’s Angels
shoot, Tony Hawk is the astronaut, Lance Mountain is the English guard, Chad Fernandez
is the bitter Reef Ryan (this has to be the only real income Chad is receiving
since he lost all his sponsors a while back).
The
director does an awesome job of displaying how big of a cocky prick Tony Alva
was; let’s just hope his ego wasn’t crushed when the director told the
actor portraying Tony to be more of a dick. I was shocked to see Johnny Knoxville
playing a semi-serious role as the macho hard ass company owner, Topper Burks
- though the Jackass king did a good job. Heath Ledger’s role as the hard-edged
shop owner and team manager, Skip Engblom, was believable and touching, although
quite extreme at moments.
The
one thing I realized watching this movie that wasn’t really talked about
in Dogtown was the transition of Jay Adams from normal punk kid to thugged out
vato. Jay really was the best and most creative one out of all of them. Finally
today after all these years Jay is getting what he deserves. He is still skating
and has a pro model shoe and board.
The
movie started out slow and dull in my opinion, but as it progressed it really
developed into an awesome tale. True, some things are flawed (for another example
Sid wasn’t on the team, he was a skate fanatic that really got brain cancer
and invited the boys to skate his pool. The dogs hanging around the side of the
pool is why the bowl is called the “Dog Bowl” but anyone who has seen
the documentary a few times can tell you that). The film really does a good job
of including all of the lore around the Z-boys: the early days of surfing at the
pier, the first urethane wheels, the gimmicky contests, the true innocence and
virginity of the sport at the time, and most importantly their love for skating.
In the end the movie really stuck together, grabbed me and made me realize why
I even picked up a board in the first place. Even if you don’t know a thing
about skating, you’ll have yourself a good time at the movies watching Lords
of Dogtown.
