Skateland

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)

'SKATELAND': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

This is no 'ADVENTURELAND'! I've heard comparisons been made between the two and 'ADVENTURELAND' was actually one of my favorite films of 2009, this film is mediocre at best. Both are coming of age tales set in the 1980's about recent high school graduates evaluating their lives and deciding what they want to do next, while working dead end jobs (in this film it's at a skating rink, in 'ADVENTURELAND' it was at an amusement park). They also both co-starred female 'TWILIGHT' stars as the love interests (in 'ADVENTURELAND' it was Kristen Stewart, in this film it's Ashley Greene). Both young stars are talented and more than adequate in their respective roles but lead Shiloh Fernandez (of 'DEADGIRL' fame) is nowhere near as memorable as Jesse Eisenberg. Eisenberg gave 'ADVENTURELAND' a lot of heart and relatability that this film just doesn't have. 'SKATELAND' is passable sappy drama but ultimately forgettable.

In the film Fernandez plays a 19 year old skating rink manager, named Ritchie Wheeler, at a rink in Texas during the 80's just when skating was starting to dies off in popularity. Due to business deflating the rink is set to close and Ritchie is forced to look for another job. At the same time he has to deal with his parents (Melinda McGraw and Brett Cullen) getting a divorce and his sister (Haley Ramm) always pestering him about college applications. He's also in love with his best friend's sister (Greene). Things become even further complicated when tragedy strikes his best friend (Heath Freeman).

The film was directed by Anthony Burns and written by Burns as well as Heath and Brandon Freeman (who also has a small part in the film). The writing and directing is decent and so is the acting (Greene is a standout) but there's nothing much to the story. It's so routine and unoriginal and nothing really exciting or memorable happens. It's definitely not a bad film it's just also definitely not a very good one either. It's one most people will probably forget quickly after watching it and if that's the case what's really the point?!

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd0S1srQ9T8

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 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.

The eighties music was wonderful in addition to a solid production design team and a good cast.

The film had some very charming and humorous moments. I believe the film would have benefited by sticking to its comic explorations of the era and interpersonal dynamics of its main characters and sub characters.

The dramatic essence of the film did not work for me. I did not feel vested in the characters enough to care about several of the "tragic" circumstances explored by the filmmakers. At one point the soundtrack explodes before and during a chase sequence that I found out of sorts.

I feel with some additional sound and visual editing this charming film can be made ready for a larger distribution.