I think it was great except...

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2005)

The movie "Lords of Dogtown" was a create depiction of an era when surf met cement and egos abounded in a world where slackers ruled and having a job wasn't what anyone in their right mind wanted to do. It was the mid to late 70's and SoCal hip was in along with a bunch of scraggly no name kids who set the skateboarding world on it's ear.
Without Alva, Adams, Peralta, the rest of the Zephyr team and their mentors, Ho, Engblom and company, the world wouldn't even care about who Tony Hawk is... in fact, if it weren't for Stacy Peralta, Tony Hawk might have been a never was.
My only problem with this film is the character of Sid. Why was it necessary to make up this character from thin air? Yes, there was a rich kid with cancer who's dad drained to pool and turned it into the DogBowl but his name was Gino and he wasn't a member of the Z-boys. He was just a rich kid with a pool and a place for the crew to hang. With so much in the way of reality, I just don't get it. Why make up Sid? There weren't enough stories? I would like to have seen a little more about the rest of the team and a little less about a person who never existed.
Other than that, having watched and now owing the first Stacy Peralta effort that documents the scene called "Dog Town and Z Boys", I think this is a perfect companion piece. It is what it was then... when hangin' was really cool, music was honest and chicks were... well they could skate and look good and not be on a disco roller rink floor.
Bravo to this flick... but next time, stick with reality. It is always better than fiction!