Lords of something, but perhaps not Dogtown

Rating: 4/10 (16 August 2007)

Hardwicke, whom many of you remember as the brain child behind the fabulously gritty drama "thirteen", helms this project with the same gumption that she enlisted for her prior film. Using some of the same crew, same filming technique, and an over-hyped budget this film demonstrates that even the dirtiest of teen struggles can be glossed over to Hollywood standards. Egos aside, we are handed a Hardwicke special which includes (but is not limited to) shirtless tween hunks, a sense of invincibility over adults, a rockin' good soundtrack, a time frame that breaks all borders, and finally two actual stars that would be used to introduce an older audience that may not be familiar with teen main characters to pack theaters and make sure someone's child gets a college tuition. I am harsh with this film  again, why?  because this was supposed to be a group that was anti-establishment, anti-normality, anti-boundaries, yet seemed to fit well within this Hollywood box. I witnessed the innovators of a generation, sans Jay Adams, sell their souls for corporate glory. Sure, they may have wanted their story to be told for a new generation of skaters, but there could have been a better way to portray this creativity, struggle, and eventual breakdown of friendships. This was supposed to be like the grittier "Stand by Me", when instead it felt like Disney was an independent benefactor.
I thought Hardwicke's choice of cinematography, camera angle, and story placement seemed dated. She did this already in "thirteen", I wanted her to explore more boundaries, stronger moments, and really define herself as a director. Instead, I watched three times (two audio commentaries plague this disc) a director mimic their already golden film  even the choice of casting some of the same actors from "thirteen". After watching "Dogtown and Z-Boys", I was prepared to see a better side to their story. I wanted Hardwicke to take me places that Peralta's minimal budget couldn't. With Peralta writing the story, I didn't think he would allow anything to slip by. I was wrong. His choice to create small, more insignificant characters to help build credibility in our central three characters was pathetic. I wanted Peralta to interact with everyone from the Zephyr skate team, not just Jay, Tony, and himself. This was a collaborative effort from everyone, and not giving everyone their moment in the spotlight just seemed to make me grumpy. I loved hearing everyone's voice during the "Dogtown and Z-Boys" film, and it hurt to just be focused on three while others were equally as successful. If this were the case, we should have had only one story  instead of trying to intermingle everything together. Stories were dropped, players were disrespected, and the true story became a muddled mess of semi-truth and Hollywood truth. Our actors did what they could, but were shaky as the main characters. John Robinson felt like he was back filming "Elephant 2", I just couldn't see him as any other character. Emile Hirsch was goofy, while I realized that Jay Adams was crazy (as we all know someone from our past like him), he just came off as arrogant and acting like he was a tormented teen. His scene on the burned pier with Heath was laughable at best. Victor, as Tony Alva, didn't carry the weight he was supposed to. He wasn't the best of the group, but he was the strongest, but Victor couldn't put any strength behind him. The three players did a decent job, but it was obvious from the opening scene that they weren't going to win awards for their portrayals.
I must compliment Hardwicke for her choice of Heath Ledger as Skip. From the documentary to the silver screen, Ledger did an amazing job of bringing this pivotal character to life. His voice, his mannerisms, his taut demeanor was exactly like watching the documentary. I loved it. It gave me faith that Heath could pull off The Joker in the upcoming "Batman" film. Alas, I cannot say the same for Rebecca De Mornay (who needs to do some independent work to get back into the business) and Johnny Knoxville. He is growing into an actor, but this was not the right character for him to tackle. Tony's financier needed to be meaner, pushier, and darker  none of which came from funnyman Knoxville. Everyone else involved seemed to hit their stride, as I enjoyed seeing some of my favorites playing cameo roles throughout the film. I must give credit to Hardwicke here as well for really bringing some (not all) of these guys into the project  I just wish she would have listened to them more when developing her style. She should have at least used all of them in the commentary, by just using Peralta and Alva, we knew who her favorites were. Where was Skip's side of the story?
Overall, I cannot say that this film compares in anyway, shape, or form to the documentary that Peralta created. I know that he wrote this film too, but it was obvious that one was written with the soul and the other was developed for the money. "Dogtown and Z-Boys" spoke for itself, giving us a raw taste of what life was like back in the 70s on Venice Beach and in innovation that the surfers had for bringing a new style of sport into the limelight. I loved the music again, "Maggie May" near the end really struck a chord for me and developed Skip into this true player. I cannot suggest this film to friends because I will be devoting my time to suggesting the more impassioned "Dogtown and Z-Boys"  especially the audio commentary  to them. I say watch the documentary, unless you like your stories with glossier endings.
Grade: ** ½ out of *****