Outstanding Ride

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2005)

"Lords of Dogtown" narrates the story of three California skateboard phenoms, who took skateboarding from a past time for surfers to a legitimate sport of its own during the late 70's. Based off the 2001 documentary "Dogtown and Z Boys" directed by one of the legendary Z Boys, Stacy Peralta, the film provides an intimate look at how the three friends went from teammates to bitter rivals, once corporate sponsorship took over the budding sport.
The film starts in 1976 Venice Beach, CA an area known as Dogtown to the locals, where three high school friends Tony Alva (Victor Raskuk), Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) are trying to break into an elite group of surfers lead by Zephyr surf shop owner Skip (Heath Ledger). Surfing quickly becomes an afterthought, however, when the boys acquire newly designed skateboard wheels, that allow them to same maneuverability on their skateboards as they have while surfing. Soon they're skating around town full time and sneaking into backyards to skate in drained pools, at the time Los Angeles was going through a water shortage crisis.
The only thing growing faster than their talent was the sport of skateboarding itself, and Skip puts together a Zephyr skateboarding team featuring the young trio. The three go on to dominate various skateboarding competitions and quickly became icons of the growing skateboard counterculture. Their success brings both money and trouble. Dissension between the older more surf-oriented members of the Zephyr label and young skaters brews, and corporate sponsors quickly lure Alva, Peralta, and Adams away. The Zephyr team breaks up and the three friends go from spending every day together to barely speaking.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, "Lords of Dogtown" compels its audience by putting them right in the middle of Dogtown skateboard culture. Using a lot of hand held camera, Hardwicke captures the fun and spontaneity of what it must have been like to be eighteen and spend every day skating, partying, and running from the cops. As a viewer, you understand why these slum kids are drawn to the skating lifestyle, so when innocence gives way to greed, the loss registers.
Hardwicke also avoids the normal Hollywood over-dramatization. She lets the story unfold naturally and never exploits side plot lines, like the dependence of Jay's mother on the money he makes, to create un-needed melodrama. "Lords" is a great story about how young talent and passion can fuel dreams, before more adult desires take over.
Three and a half out of four stars