Skateland

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.

Greetings again from the darkness. I am a sucker for coming-of-age stories based in the 60's, 70's or 80's. So all it was took was seeing the trailer once for me to catch up with first time director Anthony Burns' film set in 1983 in a small east Texas town. No matter that I spent almost no time in a skating rink growing up. The basic time and place was enough to lure me in.

Pet Peeve Alert: I have stated this many times, but I can never understand why directors feel the need to cast twenty-somethings as high schoolers. Immediately I am on the defensive. That's not to say that Shiloh Fernandez, Ashley Greene and Haley Ramm aren't fine actors, because they certainly are. They just aren't believable as 17 or 18 year olds. Same with Heath Freeman (the film's co-writer). As Brent, he is cast as the older guy who still parties with the high schoolers when on break from his time as a dirt bike racer. Mr. Freeman is talented, but looks to be pushing 40 years old! Remember Matthew McConaughey in Richard Linklater's excellent Dazed and Confused? At least he didn't look 15 years older than the other kids. There are elements of that film, as well as Almost Famous and American Graffiti, present here. Unfortunately, Skateland never comes close to the detail or emotional strength of any of those three films.

For the first hour, I kept holding out hope that the film would find itself and really present something new and special. It has the look of important commentary. It just leaves us holding an empty bag.

Certainly all the pieces are here ... wannabe writer, inspirational sister, broken family, rich and poor friends, cool and uncool students, hangers-on, local thugs, etc. Even Skateland itself has a real look and feel. For whatever reason, these pieces never jell ... they just lay there expecting us to assemble a meaningful, completed puzzle.

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".

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. :)

Anthony Burns along with Brandon and Heath Freeman wanted to write and make their first movie about East Texas in the early 1980s where they grew up. The tag line of the movie expresses what they were trying to capture, " It was a time when life was easy ...in a place they though would never change." Skateland was the town roller rink where the young people gathered and some hung around or returned there even after graduating High School. The film focuses on a crowd where everyone smoked, drank beer and jockeyed for their boy girl relationships. The two main characters are Brent Burkam (Health Freeman) slightly older than the rest who unsuccessfully raced motorcycles for a few years and comes back to town to hang around with buddies such as Ritchie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez) who is about to graduate high school. He is the assistant manager of the roller rink and can't decide what to do with his life. There are shades of young Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfus, playing characters trying to figure out their lives in American Graffiti with the 1970s take on that decade. Jump forward ten years and we have the constant music beat of the 80s setting the background for the young peoples angst, mixed with drinking, parties, cars and some violence. While the story is about the guys, there is an interesting influence of the women. Ritchie's younger sister Mary(Haley Romm) and his girl friend Michelle(Ashley Greene) are the strong characters of the movie perhaps reflecting the women's movement as did the actions of Richies Mom (Melinda McGraw). While the setting and life style may not quite be the early 80s of the northeast where our kids grew up, this young movie team has created an enduring period piece. The photography, setting and the direction is definitely first rate . We may look back on this film and realize that it was a breakout for several of the actors who were excellent. The movie earned a slot at the Sundance Film Festival which is not an easy accomplishment for an Indie low budget film which was a first time effort for the Director and writers. It will have distribution and will open in late March- early April in NY and LA. (2011)