Lords of Dogtown (2005)

Even my Grandson Became Bored with this Movie

Okay, this movie is supposed to be about three teen boys. However, I didn't know this when I tried to watch it with my grandson, and they looked to me like twenty-somethings who had never grown up. I guess they did to my grandson as well because, although he talks frequently about skatboarding when he gets a little older, he lost interest in the movie barely a third of the way through it. I felt the same about it - it was intensely boring to me to watch what looked like a bunch of immature guys doing their thing. Maybe if one is really into skateboarding this movie might be of interest. For me, and for my grandson, it wasn't worth the time spent watching it. April 16, 2008

Thrash and Shred, Heath and Hardwicke

LORDS OF DOGTOWN is both a coming-of-age saga, exploring three young men who take three very different paths, and it is also a skate-umentary, if you will. Due to a drought in Venice, California, the teenage skateboarders discover the joys of skating drained swimming pools. This and other styles of extreme skateboarding are depicted with great care, and also sheer joy and excitement. And finally, there is also the story of the surf shop would-be mogul who forms them into a skate team, but ultimately tries to exploit their talent and is left behind. The part of Skip was played by Heath Ledger, and he really immersed himself in his role. I didn't know it was him until after his untimely death, someone mentioned it to me. He looked totally different, and, like Sean Penn will sometimes do, was bravely unconcerned about whether people would like him, or like his character, and he also didn't seem concerned with his looks. He was a skuzzy skankster, indeed.

The three main characters, Stacy Peralta (John Robinson, Elephant), Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys), and Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk, Raising Victor Vargas) are on three different paths. Stacy is very serious about the sport, and works at it. At first he isn't asked to join the team because Skip feels he is not an "outlaw." Tony Alva becomes a "star," but has to realize that his entourage of hangers-on and partyers doesn't have his best interest at heart. Jay Adams is shown as the instigator, the spark that ignited the radical new style of skating. One of the funniest moments is when an ad exec from Wham-O! tries to get him to shill for Slinky! He attempts to sing the Slinky! Theme, but quickly realizes that it is not for him. But then he becomes a thug. This may have been slanted a bit, to make for a more dramatic story. In bonus footage, the real Jay Adams complains that he actually accomplished a lot more than mere thuggery with his life. The script was written by Stacy Peralta, and his character was a hard working and dedicated skater who didn't let the temptations thrown at the young stars divert him from the path to success. I wouldn't argue with that, but since he wrote the script he could've sanitized it. I would have liked to have seen him act out a little more, maybe throw a few punches. Something to show that characters are not all good or bad, but everyone has parts of both.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) The Lords of Dogtown shreds and thrashes, like a good skate movie should. In bonus footage it is revealed that while filming the skate sequences in the drained swimming pool, Hardwicke got so enthralled with the shredding action that she fell in, broke a few bones, and had to be rushed to the hospital. As a director she showed much better judgement in her choice of the little details that define an era. Like when the skaters are partyin' the skater girls perform a dance routine choreographed to Cher's "Half Breed." What a time it was, the mid 70s, for the sport of skateboarding. The gnarly cast includes Rebecca De Mornay (Risky Business), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass: The Movie), and Nikki Reed (Thirteen).

Dogtown and Z-Boys

Thirteen

Candy

Blackrock

Brokeback Mountain (Full Screen Edition)

Ned Kelly

Casanova

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

Elephant: A Film By Gus Van Sant

Raising Victor Vargas
February 26, 2008

Dogtown Lite

Keeping in mind that this telling of the Z-Boys tale is BASED on a true story, it wasn't bad. Being spoiled by watching "Dogtown and Z-Boys" about 10 times, had problems with some of it. For example, why was Jeff Ho a character in this movie? But since it wasn't intended to be a biographical story, guess that was Peralta's (an original Z-Boy and wrote the screenplay for this movie) call. Have to agree with one reviewer. The moves the boys in this movie are "half baked" compared to what they real boys were doing. That aside, I like this version as a "Hollywood" telling of the Z-Boys story. Heath did a great job capturing Skip's voice, but was Skip really "out of it" most of time. I would highly recommend you watch "Dogtown and Z-Boys". February 23, 2008

Beautiful and wild, co-starring Heath Ledger

After slowly getting over the news of Heath Ledger's death, I wanted to watch him again in one of his movies. Although I like Brokeback Mountain, I prefer this one.

It's the story of the Z-Boys, four teenage surfer friends who in the mid seventies take up skate boarding and thus change the world of sports forever.

Heath is "Far Out!" Skip, a surfer and surf store owner who is the first to recognize the kids' talents. He pushes them (calling him a manager would be a little too much), and makes them grow into what they are to become.
More or less drunk for most of the time and always open for yet another trick to spin off a little cash for himself on the side, he cannot hold them once the success and fame hits.
Big managers' promises of fast cars, the prettiest girls and cash in adundance pull the boys out of his loose grip.
Their friendship starts breaking apart as ambition, jealousy, girls and greedy managers take over.
It is only when one of them (who got left behind) falls seriously ill, that the boys get back together and rediscover what their friendship is all about.

Starring Emile Hirsch as the enigmatic and anger driven Jay, Victor Rasuk as the ambitious Tony Alva and John Robinson as Stacy Peralta (who also wrote the screenplay).

Great camerawork, both on and off the skates, terrific acting, solid directing and wonderful production and set design.
The film and the actors do a great job in transmitting the fun and thrill of skating.
My favorite scene is Tyson, The Wonder Dog, the fun loving skating bulldog who simply can't get enough of the sport(also as an extended scene in the special features - he was not trained to do this but took up skating by himself!).
The dvd's picture quality is good, even in the dark and during the rides.
The extended cut has four minutes more. The only reason these were cut were probably the use of too many four letter words, but I wouldn't want to miss them.
Great movie with a wonderful sad and funny Heath Ledger. February 1, 2008

Lords of something, but I am not so sure about Dogtown...

That's right. I do things in pairs. After doubly watching the regular version of "Dogtown and Z-Boys" as well as listening to the audio commentary, I decided to watch the Catherine Hardwicke full-fledged Hollywood version of Peralta's voice. With two audio commentaries, plenty of behind the scenes information, as well as a cornucopia of in-your-face skateboarding, I believe I have seen every angle of this film - from Catherine's vision to the completely misrepresented time frame for these three young friends that changed history. This is the "unleashed/unrated" version, and you are in for a treat. Catherine and team left no stone unturned and brought us the Z-Boys with loud 70s music, tween issues, and a story that was connected with the feeblest of string. For those reading this review, I am going to compare the two films - why? Not only because I can, but because these two - both "Lords of Dogtown" and "Dogtown and Z-Boys" are companion films. All due in part to an issue in Rolling Stone magazine, these two films were allowed a green light - one was made with heart, passion, and a sense of nostalgia, while the other (still using the same scribe), was made with the green of the dollar deeply in mind. It isn't the fact that I disliked "Lords of Dogtown", I just finished watching it three times, it was the fact that I think it over amplifies the truth and dissolves the passion that Peralta created with his documentary.

Hardwicke, whom many of you remember as the brain child behind the fabulously gritty drama "thirteen", helms this project with the same gumption that she enlisted for her prior film. Using some of the same crew, same filming technique, and an overhyped budget this film demonstrates that even the dirtiest of teen struggles can be glossed over to Hollywood standards. Egos aside, we are handed a Hardwicke special which includes (but is not limited to) shirtless tween hunks, a sense of invincibility over adults, a rockin' good soundtrack, a time frame that breaks all borders, and finally two actual stars that would be used to introduce an older audience that may not be familiar with teen main characters to pack theaters and make sure someone's child gets a college tuition. I am harsh with this film - again, why? - because this was supposed to be a group that was anti-establishment, anti-normality, anti-boundaries, yet seemed to fit well within this Hollywood box. I witnessed the innovators of a generation, sans Jay Adams, sell their souls for corporate glory. Sure, they may have wanted their story to be told for a new generation of skaters, but there could have been a better way to portray this creativity, struggle, and eventual breakdown of friendships. This was supposed to be like the grittier "Stand by Me", when instead it felt like Disney was an independent benefactor.

I thought Hardwicke's choice of cinematography, camera angle, and story placement seemed dated. She did this already in "thirteen", I wanted her to explore more boundaries, stronger moments, and really define herself as a director. Instead, I watched three times (two audio commentaries plague this disc) a director mimic their already golden film - even the choice of casting some of the same actors from "thirteen". After watching "Dogtown and Z-Boys", I was prepared to see a better side to their story. I wanted Hardwicke to take me places that Peralta's minimal budget couldn't. With Peralta writing the story, I didn't think he would allow anything to slip by. I was wrong. His choice to create small, more insignificant characters to help build credibility in our central three characters was pathetic. I wanted Peralta to interact with everyone from the Zephyr skate team, not just Jay, Tony, and himself. This was a collaborative effort from everyone, and not giving everyone their moment in the spotlight just seemed to make me grumpy. I loved hearing everyone's voice during the "Dogtown and Z-Boys" film, and it hurt to just be focused on three while others were equally as successful. If this were the case, we should have had only one story - instead of trying to intermingle everything together. Stories were dropped, players were disrespected, and the true story became a muddled mess of semi-truth and Hollywood truth. Our actors did what they could, but were shaky as the main characters. John Robinson felt like he was back filming "Elephant 2", I just couldn't see him as any other character. Emile Hirsch was goofy, while I realized that Jay Adams was crazy (as we all know someone from our past like him), he just came off as arrogant and acting like he was a tormented teen. His scene on the burned pier with Heath was laughable at best. Victor, as Tony Alva, didn't carry the weight he was supposed to. He wasn't the best of the group, but he was the strongest, but Victor couldn't put any strength behind him. The three players did a decent job, but it was obvious from the opening scene that they weren't going to win awards for their portrayals.

I must compliment Hardwicke for her choice of Heath Ledger as Skip. From the documentary to the silver screen, Ledger did an amazing job of bringing this pivotal character to life. His voice, his mannerisms, his taut demeanor was exactly like watching the documentary. I loved it. It gave me faith that Heath could pull off The Joker in the upcoming "Batman" film. Alas, I cannot say the same for Rebecca De Mornay (who needs to do some independent work to get back into the business) and Johnny Knoxville. He is growing into an actor, but this was not the right character for him to tackle. Tony's financier needed to be meaner, pushier, and darker - none of which came from funnyman Knoxville. Everyone else involved seemed to hit their stride, as I enjoyed seeing some of my favorites playing cameo roles throughout the film. I must give credit to Hardwicke here as well for really bringing some (not all) of these guys into the project - I just wish she would have listened to them more when developing her style. She should have at least used all of them in the commentary, by just using Peralta and Alva, we knew who her favorites were. Where was Skip's side of the story?

Overall, I cannot say that this film compares in anyway, shape, or form to the documentary that Peralta created. I know that he wrote this film too, but it was obvious that one was written with the soul and the other was developed for the money. "Dogtown and Z-Boys" spoke for itself, giving us a raw taste of what life was like back in the 70s on Venice Beach and in innovation that the surfers had for bringing a new style of sport into the limelight. I loved the music again, "Maggie May" near the end really struck a chord for me and developed Skip into this true player. I cannot suggest this film to friends because I will be devoting my time to suggesting the more impassioned "Dogtown and Z-Boys" - especially the audio commentary - to them. I say watch the documentary, unless you like your stories with glossier endings.

Grade: ** ½ out of ***** August 16, 2007

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