Skateland

At the end my son turned to me and said, "That's it?" I graduated hs in 1983 and my 13yo son loves rollerskating so we thought this would be a great movie to watch together. I've never seen Adventureland (mentioned by some other reviewers) but I'll admit to hoping this might have some similarity to Saturday Night Fever (disco vs skating) but don't get your hopes up. Some good: the acting and the music. Some Annoying and Bad; the oh so slow, wandering plot (what plot?), the lack of actual skating scenes and the unrealistic portrayal of 'small town' Texas (not everyone dressed with the best style all the time, not all girls were hot and brainless and not all boys had perfect hair and muscles - the young men in this movie look to be in their mid to late twenties and since when did small towns have a mall?). All in all, it was a pretty boring movie and we really wish there would have at least been some crazy fun skating scenes to make the movie more exciting.

The blurb on the back of the box caught my eye "It's 'American Graffiti' for the generation baptized in 'Star Wars'.". Hey, that's me! Let me just say that it's no 'American Graffiti', though there are certainly some similarities. Like 'Graffiti', 'Skateland' takes place right in the middle of a transition in eras (Here 70s to 80s), and you have that unique blending of those two aesthetics and mindsets. And it's about young people in a small town trying to figure out who and what they want to be. It's all been done before, and much better. The performances are good, and the soundtrack is killer, but it's a fairly bland film that isn't nearly as profound as it thinks it is.

I know a lot of people compare Skateland to Adventureland and I don't want to follow everyone else but it's kinda hard not too. Both have the coming of age in the 80's plot, both have a killer soundtrack and both have a Twilight gal, the thing Skateland has that Adventureland lacked was heart, what Adventureland has in laughs Skateland has in emotion. The plot isn't necessarily original but we all know Hollywood don't know what originality means, it stands out from the crowd because it doesn't drown itself in the cliché feel good factor.

Shiloh Fernandez has graduated to leading man quite nicely, he has a very serene screen presence, and in this he sports the 80's shag to perfection. The scenes with him and his mother and sister are quite touching, I would have like to see a little bit of the story from the mothers point of view, she us almost painted as a cold woman so easily ready to abandon her children, but I picked up a vibe that there was more to the story than that.

The reproduction of the 80's is flawless, from the hair and clothes all the way down to the posters on a bedroom wall. Props to the production designers for that, so many period films of late aren't convincing enough with these details.

Check it out if you're in the mood for something a little different from the usual coming if age story, it's hard not to just sit back and enjoy the story unfolding before you. :)

I saw this film today at Sundance and really enjoyed it. I don't know why the other two reviewers here suggest it would be better as a comedy about the era or should be like Dazed and Confused. That would be a completely different story and the writer and director obviously wanted to tell THIS story. They show a young man dealing at age 19 with his world crashing in on him, in several ways, pretty much all at once. I appreciated the story they chose to tell and found the lead character rather charming and a nice portrayal of a not too perfect "good boy." I was interested in following what he was going through. Sure, there have been many similar teen stories, several set in this era, and not a lot of new material was explored. Except that the Skateland theme will be memorable to many of us who enjoyed a skating rink during our childhood and teen years.

One of the sad things about seeing films you like at Sundance is that so many of them never see the light of day again. This may not be a blockbuster, but as the closing credits ran, I thought - this one will make it. I think the casting will help assure that this one isn't going to be mothballed.

I sat in the packed theater house. Eagerly awaiting this film. Why? Well, I remember 1983 and how it felt. The sights, the sounds, the emotions. It was my age of innocence. And a decadent time for many. And now I was going to visit that time for 90 minutes.

The film takes place in North Eastern Texas town. The year is 1983. Ritchie (Shiloh Fernandez) is a 19 year kid. Not sure where his life is going to go. And quite content working at Skateland for his life. Ritchie's choices. Only include. Not making a choice. With the closure of Skateland and his parents looming divorce. Ritchie is confronted with the question all 19 year olds hear. "What you going to do with yourself".

For a directorial debut. Anthony Burns held his own. However, we have all seen this film before. Nothing new here. A John Hughes throwback. Great music with very few great scenes. Ashley Greene of "Twilight" fame also stars in "Skateland". So, now I have watched 3 films with her that were "Ehhh" Wait for DVD. Or rent "Dazed & Confused".