Reviews

When it comes to films on the L.A. hardcore scene of the late 70s/early 80s this is as good as it gets! It's very rare that cameras are around during the genesis of a music movement, and I will be forever grateful that Ms Sheeris was there to capture the beginnings of the LA hardcore scene that was growing out of the ideals and influences of the dying New York & London punk scenes. I was living on the East Coast at the time this film came out, and back then the only way to see some of these bands, without going to L.A., was to see this film. It was a rare event when one of these bands would pile into a van and head east on a tour, so to fulfill our love for the L.A. hardcore scene my friends and I would go see this film every few weeks. This is a great document of that time in music history. For people who liked this era of punk/hardcore music, here's a few other very similar documentary films you might want to check out...

THE BLANK GENERATION - (70s New York punk - Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell, Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, etc...)

THE PUNK ROCK MOVIE - (70s British punk - Sex Pistols, The Clash, X-Ray Spex, Eater, etc...)

PUNK IN LONDON - (70s British punk - The Clash, The Adverts, The Lurkers, Subway Sect, etc...)

D.O.A. - (70s American & British punk - Dead Boys, Generation X, Sham 69, Iggy Pop, etc... *contains a priceless interview with Sid & Nancy*)

UK/DK - (80s British hardcore - The Addicts, The Exploited, The Business, UK Subs, etc...)

I remember when skateboarding had it's rebirth in the 70s. I begged my parents for money to by a second-hand skateboard from a friend. It was a piece of junk, complete with clay wheels and everything. I also remember reading Skateboarder Magazine and being both completely impressed and totally terrified of the Dogtown crew. Skating never became a way of life for me, but in some ways it has always been a part of my life, whether it is using a board for transportation or just having a bunch of friends that skate.

This film is a brilliant documentary of the real birth of modern day skating. Watching this crew turn skating from the flat boring hobby it was into the vertical lifestyle it has become had me sitting slack-jawed for 90 minutes.

It's amazing that enough footage from this period still exists to have created this film, and thank god for that. The footage is brilliant. It gave me the feeling of watching an old Buster Keaton film: I've seen some of the tricks Keaton did repeated countless times in other films since then, but when you go back and see the first person to perform that trick it's amazing that, not only were they the first person to try it successfully, but that they lived through it and made it seem effortless. That's the feeling this film gave me. Yeah, I've seen people skate pools before, but to watch the FIRST people skating pools and inventing the tricks that eventually became the basics of modern skating is like watching the facade of the house fall on Keaton, leaving him standing safely in the frame of a window. It's absolutely brilliant to watch something that, up until that point, had never been tried before, but since, has been tried by almost everyone.

This film is beautiful to watch and incredible to listen to. The soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard in a film. This is a film that will appeal to people whether they like skating or not. I've talked to a couple of friends of mine who made their girlfriends sit through this film after heavy protest, and they all said that their girlfriends were mesmerized by the end of the film and loved it as much as they did.

As for the previous comments on this board that complain about the film being too self congratulatory, I think that's an unfair disparagement. I liked seeing these guys get excited about their past. They created something that influenced their sport and changed it forever. They have the right to pat themselves on the back. They were stars for doing what they loved to do. Most of these guys/girls never achieved the staggering success Tony Hawk enjoys today, but that kind of success wasn't available to skaters then. Sure, they had some success, but more importantly, they have been able to live a life doing what they love to do, and, as we see in the end, almost all of them still surf, skate or work in the surf/skate industry. How many of us can say that we have been able to live our lives and have been successful by breaking all the rules and doing what we love to do? They can. My hat's off to the Dogtown and Z-Boys for being themselves and changing the world of skateboarding forever.

Just imagine if some of the characters from "Goodfellas" lived long enough to retire and move to Florida and you have the basic idea behind "The Crew". I really enjoyed the beginning of this movie. It started off as a very good parody of "Goodfellas": Dreyfus' Ray Liotta-style narration, the long Stedi-Cam shot as the guys enter the restaurant through the kitchen, reference to the Lufthansa heist, Dreyfus getting mad at the guys for being flashy with the money they made from the "job" they pulled, etc... It surprised me to see so many comments here from people who didn't get the parody and were angered that this film 'ripped-off' "Goodfellas". I thought the parodies were quite clever and, for the most part, worked. Unfortunately, at a certain point the "Goodfellas" references end and the film has a bit of trouble making it all the way to the end on its own. It seemed as if someone suddenly decided to abandon most of the humor to try to work on some sort of main plot and an even weaker subplot involving Dreyfus' estranged daughter. The cast does well with their roles, except for Dreyfus who does his best despite being horribly miscast. Not a very good film overall but it definitely has many shining moments. My one question - with all the over-the-hill mobsters that show up to help out the crew, where the hell was Abe Vigoda?

I turned on the TV one day and this was just starting. I figured it would be mindless background filler while I did some work. Eventually, I found myself watching it. Then I found myself enjoying it. I was surprised. I'm also surprised by how few people on this board seem to get the movie's running joke of product placement. The movie is an in-your-face comment about how youth-oriented entertainment is more about selling products than creating quality entertainment. Ask the average person over age 25 "What song does Britney Spears sing?", and "What product does Britney endorse?", and I bet you'll hear Pepsi before a song name. And that's what this film targets. Everywhere you turn in this movie there is an advertisement for something. I'm pretty sure every single scene had some sort of product placement, some in very clever ways, some over the top, but always there. The movie parodies itself as an ad more than entertainment. What's it about? In short, a record conglomerate uses musicians to sell products by hiding subliminal messages to buy, buy, buy in the songs. When the latest boy band catches on to the scheme they are eliminated and Josie & the Pussycats are lined up as the new, unwitting product hawkers. the film is full of in-jokes and jabs at the entertainment industry. It seems the cast had a good time making this film and it shows on screen. The actors play comic book characters as just that. Some more outlandish than others, but they all do quite well, even though some scenes are a bit strained. The dialog was a bit thin in places but the movie still has charm. It's a fun bit of entertainment and worth watching.

Perhaps the coolest movie ever made! It's worth watching for the lingo alone, you sound me? And it's a movie with a lesson... "You flake around with the weed and you're gonna end up using hard stuff!" Yes, it's just that cheesey.

Hot-shot Tony Baker (Russ Tamblyn) is the new kid at Santo Bello High School and he makes everyone aware of his arrival. He muscles his way into the Wheelers & Dealers, run by J.I. Colridge (John Drew Barrymoore - Drew's dad) and not only tries to push him out of the picture, but also goes after his girl, Joan Staples (Diane Jergens).

Tony lets it be known that he's looking to "graze on some grass", but not just a few "sticks", he wants five pounds! Not only that but he also wants to score some coke, H, goofballs and caps. He is soon humbled when he finds he has to score 100 sticks from J.I. at the big race. While haggling for the weed Tony learns that J.I. is pushing for the mysterious Mr. A. (Jackie Coogan). Tony wants to meet Mr. A. so he can score a kilo of heroin. Eventually, a meeting is set up between Tony and Mr. A.

School teacher Miss Williams (Jan Sterling) takes a liking to Tony and sets out to save him from himself. Tony takes a liking to his teacher, but with different intentions.

The comedy (unintentionally) abounds in this 50s flick. Check out Barrymoore's hep-cat slang rendition of Columbus' voyage to America or the Beat Poetess' poetry reading or Michael Landon as a dorky student Tony mocks, or the slinky, Mamie VanDoren as Tony's drunken, slutty aunt or the cop explaining the difference between a real cigarette and marijuana.

I could go on for days about this movie, but instead, I'm going to stop writing and pop the tape in my VCR and watch it for the five billionth time. I suggest you do the same.