Skating ecstasy

Rating: 7/10 (10 June 2005)

Creating a feature film on radical sports like surfing and skateboarding is no easy task, which is why you see most of those filmmakers settle on documentaries. But, every now and then a filmmaker will get an idea and put it to a test as a feature film. That's what writer/director John Stockwell did with BLUE CRUSH a few years ago and I think I remember it fairing quite well. The harsh truth to movies like BLUE CRUSH and now LORDS OF DOGTOWN is there's simply not enough of them. Maybe if more feature films were made instead of documentaries in this genre, the quality would be better, but when all we have to compare it to is some extreme documentary with 'alternative' music, it's hard to look past the action and see the story taking place. And, I think that's what many critics will do with LORDS OF DOGTOWN, the new skating/surfing film by writer Stacy Peralta who also just happens to be one of the famed "Z-Boys" himself, the same group featured in the film.
The story in LORDS OF DOGTOWN is all about the Z-Boys, who were Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk), Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) and Stacy Peralta (John Robinson) and the mark they made on the sport of skateboarding. Starting out, the Z-Boys were just boys wanting to be surfers like the other locals in Venice, Calif., who had reigned in every piece of the sport. The leader and guy the Z-Boys looked up to was Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger), owner of the Zephyr surf shop where the whole gang hung out from time to time. It was the 70s and all they had then was pretty much surfing, but one day Skip was handed some new "in-line" skateboarding wheels to test out that would eventually turn his and the newly dubbed Z-Boys' world around. The next thing you know, the Z-Boys are turning crazy moves on their skateboards in drained swimming pools (or what they called a wave that never breaks) and competitions, starting a skating craze across the country. And, with this kind of success comes money, fame and girls, all of which that can test the very best of friendships. In the end, however, it was all about the skating, leaving a question of whether or not that was enough to keep the trio together? I'm not sure how closely the cast modeled the original Z-Boys, but with Stacy Peralta involved, I can only imagine he did his best. And really, the cast in this one was great, lead by none other than Heath Ledger, who I must say was impressive as Skip. Ledger, who played a convincing drunk the entire film, did not overpower the rest of the cast. If anything, he took a backseat, which is exactly what director Catherine Hardwicke wanted. The rest of the cast was chosen well and seemed to feed off each other quite nicely. The one-standout performance is my mind though was Emile Hirsch (THE GIRL NEXT DOOR), who in my mind had the toughest role to play in Jay Adams. Hirsch's character probably had the most talent, but chose a separate road without the fame and fortune. This created much emotion and struggles, played very nicely by Hirsch.
It almost goes without saying that the action and extreme camera-work was top notch in LORDS OF DOGTOWN. For anyone who has seen a surfing documentary, you already know how this camera-work plays out, but for those of you who haven't seen it before, get ready to be taken on a wild ride. Having already done the famed documentary DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS, I'm almost positive Stacey Peralta had a lot to say about how certain skating scenes should go. In fact, it was said that the real Tony Alva helped Peralta and Hardwicke choreograph several of the scenes, showing the young actors how the Z-Boys should skate and act.
But, it wasn't as much skating, as it was the balance of the story with it, which is where Harwicke shines. She has a way of bringing out as much emotion as possible, and it worked really well in this film. That balance only fueled the action taking place, leaving you to watch and wonder what extreme act would happen next. Many critics see this story as weak, but how powerful of a story do you need for a group of famous skaters? The pure drama of their lives is enough for me to enjoy and take in, which I believe is all Peralta wanted in the end.
LORDS OF DOGTOWN definitely isn't for everyone, but I would think anyone that has the least bit interest in surfing or skating will enjoy and appreciate the true essence of this story. It's hard not to love extreme skating and surfing, but when it's shot under the watchful eye of two of the Z-Boys themselves, it can't get much better than that. But, this movie was more than just a showcase for skating, it was a drama and I personally feel director Catherine Hardwicke (THIRTEEN) did an excellent job in showing the emotional struggles these so-called "Z-Boys" went through while revolutionizing the sport of skateboarding in the 70s.
B+