A great film but major holes!

Rating: 6/10 (5 March 2008)

I'd give this a rating of nine if Stacey had given respect to some more of the historical and influential figures in the lives of these guys. He was more than happy to use tons of Hal Jepsen's film footage in both the docco and in the movie but no he made no story representation of this zany surf film icon whatsoever, not even a veiled one, and the truth is, without Hal's exposure the legend of these guys would not be the same. Hal wasn't making these guys their cheeseburgers, he was making the very films that helped catapult them to fame and fortune.
Hal was pretty much the first person to document them on film, and thus his work served as a root from which this entire tree owes much of its growth.
There are plenty of other historical figures who were dissed as well, and I could go on and on but I realize that those who knew the scene and those who were there know already, so why waste time in this forum trying to educate others when they will either find out for themselves or won't really care.
The film was excellent, wonderfully made and very entertaining, and it had some of the gritty street feel in both the cinematography and in the storyline. I actually appreciated the disjointed feel because it matched the lives of these people.
But again, leaving out folks like Jep, Dittrich, Rolloff, Ganzer, Robbie Dick et al is like leaving out Pacific Ocean Park. NO SoCal surf or skate story is complete or right without homage to these gents because while Stacey and the boys were the skaters to be sure, it is both disingenuous and greasy to have left out the very people who championed them the hardest. I don't care if Peralta had personal feelings about Jep's drinking or other personal faults...the facts is still the facts, and Stacey should have done right by these old surf gangstas.
I was there, I worked with Hal, I met some of the Z-Boys and knew one or two and I therefore feel qualified to fill in the blanks that Stacey left out.
Thanks for listening.