The Lords of Dogtown Review

by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)
June 3rd, 2005

LORDS OF DOGTOWN
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2

LORDS OF DOGTOWN, "inspired by the true story" from Stacy Peralta's documentary DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS, manages to turn an exhilarating documentary into a remarkably boring movie. The dialog is especially trite -- "Dude, I know," "I love you bro," and "This is our time bro." If they had said "bro" one more time, I was going to puke. Stacy Peralta, a famous skateboarder whose life, among others, is chronicled in this biopic, wrote the scripts for both films.

The story follows some good kids, who pride themselves on acting like rebels, as they move from being maverick surfers to becoming the first famous skateboarders. It follows their careers as they go from illegal skateboarding in swimming pools emptied by the California drought of the 1970s to the starting of their own skateboard empires, as groupies came to treat them like rock stars.

The documentary's constant voice-over narration drew us into the story and explained skateboarding nuances, but LORDS OF DOGTOWN just meanders along with random clips of skateboarding mayhem interspersed with silly little episodes of backstage maneuvering and bickering. Easily the film's most repulsive performance is that given by Heath Ledger, as Skip Engblom, the owner of the surf shop which forms one of the first skateboard teams. Ledger's accent is so over-the-top and cheesy that, every time he speaks, it is a fingers-across-the-blackboard experience.

If you have never seen the documentary DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS, rent it and skip LORDS OF DOGTOWN. And if you have seen the doc, don't be tempted into wasting your time with this slapdash imitation.

LORDS OF DOGTOWN runs way too long at 1:47. It is rated PG-13 for "drug and alcohol content, sexuality, violence, language and reckless behavior - all involving teens" and would be acceptable for most teenagers.

The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, June 3, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.

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