Lords Of Dogtown

This movie has been on my radar for quite some time now. I am a big fan of the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys and when I heard Stacy Peralta (He is one of the main Z-Boys and also directed the doc) was writing a feature film version of the story I was more than a little intrigued. Then I found out that Fred Durst would be directing it, and all hope of it being good was lost. Thanks in part to my prayers, Fred Durst dropped out of the film and David Fincher took over. Once again I was pumped to see it. Then, taking his lead from Durst, Fincher dropped out of the project and for a while it looked like it may not get made. Finally, Catherine Hardwicke stepped in as the director, which was more than ok with me. You may not know her name yet, but her first film entitled Thirteen was nothing short of brilliant. Longtime readers may even remember that Thirteen won the Cammy Award for Best Picture and Hardwicke for Best Director a few years back. I had little doubt that Hardwicke could do the job here, in fact, she seemed the perfect choice to me. And much to my non-surprise, Lords Of Dogtown was every bit as good as I had hoped it would be.

The first thing I noticed watching this film, was that it was absolutely perfectly cast. This has a chance to be one of those movies that come along every decade or so loaded with young actors who all become stars (i.e. The Outsiders, Dazed And Confused, Fast Times At Ridgemont High). The 3 leads of the film are all relatively unknown actors, but not for long. John Robinson, who plays Stacy Peralta has only been in one film (Gus Van Sant's overrated Elephant), but that doesn't stop him from turning in a solid performance as the shy, sensitive Peralta. Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas) bears an uncanny resemblance to the real Tony Alva, and he really excels as the cocky and ambitious Alva. Rounding out the big 3 is Emile Hirsch as Jay Adams. Hirsch is the closest thing to a seasoned actor in this group, but he has never done anything like this. Hirsh plays the brooding, troubled Adams with an unbelievable amount of intensity. In a film full of great acting, it is Hirsch who steals the show. Heath Ledger, channeling Jim Morrison, turn in a hilarious portrayal of Skip Engblom, a surf shop owner who basically started the revolution only to get cut out of it. Michael Angarano as Sid, the least talented Z-Boy and Rebecca De Mornay as Adams' hippy mom are also great.

Hardwicke does a great job recreating 1970's Dogtown (aka Venice Beach) as an oceanfront ghetto. The cinematography and art design really give the film a grimy 70's vibe. The soundtrack also works wonders setting the mood. This film is loaded with great rock songs from the 70's. The skate scenes were always interesting, being shot in a very skate video sort of way. You learn real quick that the 3 leads in this film can really skate, because it is shot in such a way that you can see who is doing the skating pretty much all the time.

The film shows the transformation of the Z-Boys from surfers just looking to have a good time, all the way to their near rock star status as skateboarding becomes a cultural phenomenon. What is truly interesting is to see them torn apart by this sudden fame. All 3 stumble along the way and struggle with the pressure in their own unique ways. Hardwicke's great strength as a director is her way with young actors, managing to get real subtle performances out of relatively novice actors. As Peralta, Alva, and Adams become the first stars of the skateboard movement, they suddenly go from being 3 peas in a pod to vastly different. Peralta's script does a good job fleshing out not only himself, but also Adams and Alva without judging them. The dogbowl scene near the end of the movie is touching and did actually happen, it wasn't added by Hollywood.

Lords Of Dogtown manages to be both a companion piece to the great documentary that preceded it and also work beautifully as a stand alone film. Catherine Hardwicke takes another step in proving that she is one of the most talented directors working today. And a handful of very talented young actors take another step toward becoming stars. If that isn't enough to make you want to watch the movie then the cameo of Tony Hawk (Peralta, Alva, and Jay Adams also cameo) as an uncoordinated astronaut surely will.