Skatetown USA

I found this movie on DVD at missed movies dot com, but it was clearly dubbed off a mid-grade VHS copy, so expect it to play like an episode of Chips your uncle recorded on his brand-new $800 VCR, back in 1981. If I were Patrick Swayze, I would've bought the rights to this movie years ago and buried it. One must be impressed with his skate/dancing prowess though. His "gang" looked like they could get beat up by the gang in the Michael Jackson Beat It video.

It's basically a long, disco rollerskating music video, with a few jokes from Flip Wilson and the Unknown comic thrown in the mix.

Besides seeing Horseshack and Marsha Brady, one of the pizza guys at the snack bar was the therapist in There's Something About Mary, although I can't seem to find his credit in either film.

I really wish they would release this on DVD. You gotta love those late 70's early 80's movies about Rollerskating. If you liked Rollerboogie, you'll love this! It's not a work of art, but it's a lot of fun, especially if you grew up in that time period. If anything it's fun to laugh at and say, "I really liked this crap?" How can you beat the all star cast of Scott Baio, Maureen McCormick, and that blonde guy who "acted" with Scott Baio as the jerky jock in Zapped. If you loved the 70's and afterschool specials, I highly suggest (if they ever release this) to give it a viewing. You'll laugh, you'll cry (that your actually having fun watching it), and it just might become your favorite movie about late 70's Rollerdisco.

I never did understand why most audiences didn't go for XANADU. That movie had a huge cult following upon its theatrical release; while being considered a box office dud, it had the sort of presence that granted it an instant cult classic among musicals. I know tons and tons of people who love both the movie and the soundtrack dearly, and I've noticed that they are all the same personality I am--namely, folks who are starry-eyed by nature, have a strong sense of poetic beauty and grew up with before-Eisner Walt Disney movies.

Story has it that SKATETOWN, U.S.A. was deliberately pushed back a couple of years or so the moment word got out that XANADU was in the works, for apparently the makers of this flick didn't want to chance XANADU's destroying it. They needn't have worried. This thing didn't have a chance to begin with. SKATETOWN is far, far, FAR inferior to the wonderful and delightful XANADU. It doesn't begin to even hold a candle to XANADU, which lives up to its title.

And yet, SKATETOWN, U.S.A. is campy fun in its own way, a time capsule from the disco era that brings back memories despite obvious flaws in direction, choppy editing that insists on slashing the footage of some genuinely spectacular skating stunts before you can fully enjoy them, and a story that is nonexistant at best.

The music makes this movie, hands down. It has a wonderful theme song and original songs as well as a whole slew of disco staples that are now truly timeless classics. And of course all the skating is a blast. And gotta love that goofball D.J. with his sparkle afro!

There's one thing that seriously ruins my enjoyment of this film though. An annoying overweight worker at the snack bar who has a thing for hot dogs. This guy is just... seriously, he's disgusting! He's so gross and lacking in personal hygiene and basic cleanliness that... well, would *YOU* buy food from this guy? I swear, I lose all appetite (especially for hot dogs) upon seeing this guy in action. I'll be sitting there enjoying a wonderful skate dance set to gorgeous music, only to have the camera suddenly cut away to this jerk's gross antics. Edit him OUT entirely and this film would be much, much better and more carefree.

Oh, and you haven't lived until you hear this flick's answer to the question "You saved my life... Why?"

This is the very definition of a guilty pleasure film.

Teenage blondes in hot pants and mini skirts, Scott Baio, Marcia Brady, stoners, food fights, midgets, cross dressers, and "Introducing Patrick Swayze" it all takes place within one night within the wall of Skatetown USA!

The plot: Yes, there actually is a plot. True to the Greek unity of time and place the entire film is set in one night inside a roller disco which appears to be the space ship from 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' only BRIGHTER!

The night starts with Scott Baio placing huge bets that his rookie friend Stan can sweep the roller disco competition. But there are troubles in techno paradise as Patrick Swayze and his Ron Jeremy look alike gang arrive on scene and black mail Flip Wilson (no puns intended) Skatetown USA's owner into rigging the contest.

Swayze's performance boldly says that no closet can hold him. But Stan's puts John Travolta performance in 'Staying Alive' to shame.

All in all this is a fun film that never takes itself to seriously. There's some good music which is difficult for the 70s and some really impressive dance scenes. There's also plenty of PG T&A.

Well as a former U.S. Marine and roller-skater myself, this film has considerable interest for me. I saw it twice when it first came out. After that, it was about 28 years, until I got my 16mm transfer DVD. Quality isn't the greatest but its good enough to bring back those memories, at least until it comes out on DVD or Blu-Ray DVD. Colors on the transfer are rather muted but I'm sure a Blu-Ray transfer from the original masters will really make this movie sparkle.

Of course those of us who saw Skatetown remember how cheesy this flick was. I won't repeat most of what already has been written but will post a few of my own observations.

One of my favorite sequences was the performance by a skating group known as the "Jerry Nifta Skaters", probably due to the cool remix version of the Jackson's "Shake Your Body" used for their performance (which played quite a bit at the Roller City 2001 rink in Riverside CA back then). Great skating but I kept wondering about the really gorgeous blonde girl in the group. She looked great, mostly a nice figure and wore a rather revealing top. Problem is she had almost nothing to reveal leading me to wonder if she's a he, or is she a tall 11 year old girl? Regardless, they put on a good show.

Of course Patrick Swayze does miracles for any film he's in, even this one in the role which can best be described as a cross between a tough gang leader and a totally gay male ice skater (no prejudice against gays here, just describing the point). But as a lot of us would say, c'mon now, a skating gang?? I see a lot of us Skatetown "fans" are wondering about the rink itself and did this rink really exist. I've seen comments that the rink was actually a specially constructed studio set and doesn't really exist. But some folks have stated that some scenes were filmed in a actual rink, including one claiming to be a extra and stating that a rink in Sherman Oaks, CA was used. Another stated that the Hollywood Palladium was used and from the interior shots I've been able to find, this makes sense. Hopefully if it ever comes out on DVD, the DVD will have some extras to tell us more about where this was filmed (unlike "Thank God Its Friday" DVD which had NO extras).

As for musical rights maybe holding up any DVD release, I'm not sure what to believe. Makes some sense but then again, "Saturday Night Fever" and "Thank God Its Friday" both had a lot of hit songs on their soundtracks and would have the same problem with musical rights. Yet both are out on DVD, albeit TGIF took a while.

When this movie first came out, no one knew that disco was only a few months (if not weeks) away from heading over the cultural cliff into total cultural disrepute. I'm sure the movie makers were disappointed that the accompanying roller disco "craze" was so brief and their movie didn't do so well at the box office.

To sum up, this movie is a definite 1979 time capsule with everything from disco music, to sparking white-afro'd DJs, feathered hairstyles of the day, girls in outfits that would have them barred from the rinks that I frequented in my youth, even in 1979 (I'd swear that a couple of those outfits were predecessors to Victoria's Secret skimpy 1-piece swimsuits), and a overabundance of pink and purple but that might be the muted colors on the DVD transfer.

Fair to say, Skatetown USA is becoming a true "cult classic", much like "Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "Night of the Comet" which leads to hope that it will eventually be out on DVD/Blu-Ray.