Boardsport Celluloid part two
HUCK looks at feature films that give a nod to surf, skate and snow culture.
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Feature films and surf, skate and snow culture have always been awkward bedfellows. Even with the most noble of intentions, when a filmmaker and a bunch of actors have tried to capture the spirit and soul of so-called 'boardsports' on celluloid, the end result is usually a hash of clichés and faux pas accompanied with an unhealthy helping of fromage.
But what the hell, in honour of some of these unholy unions, we are putting together a collection of the good, the bad and the ugly that you may just want to check out for yourself...
Thrashin' (1986)
As far as mainstream skating films go, Thrashin’ was as good as it got in the 1980s, offering not only a moderately realistic look at street and vert skating, but also the LA punk scene and hill bombing. This time, it’s Josh Brolin as the moody rebellious skater with a crush on valley girl / punk wannabe Chrissy (played by model Pamela Gidley). His affection incurs the wrath of her overprotective older brother, fuelling a skate rivalry that’s (spoiler alert!) resolved at the end of the film when they become friends.
Thrashin’ is today revered as something of a classic among skaters, not because it has realistic dialogue or perfectly captures the spirit and excitement of skating 20 odd years ago, but because the filmmakers at least tried to make it real. Of course, they didn’t succeed – this was still made by studio suits after all – but director David Winters, made an effort to take skating seriously. The cast includes real skaters (Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Tony Alva and Mike McGill) and the soundtrack includes Devo, Fear and the Circle Jerks.
Plus it has Hosoi telling some kids that break-dancing is “for wimps”. That’s as hardcore as it gets for mainstream cinema. JW
Point Break (1991)
"Surfing's the source man, swear to god..." says a teenage grom to Keanu Reaves in the 1991 surf classic, Point Break.
The funny thing about this two-hour heist movie directed by the first-woman-to-win-an-Oscar-for-best-director Kathryn Bigelow, is that for all its clichés - good guy infiltrates bad guys but finds sympathy and a hot chick - its surfing meets conspiracy plot is actually quite groundbreaking.
Ultimately, the FBI-agent-turns-soul-dude storyline is totally inoffensive because of its complete ridiculousness and surfers are inclined to feel warm towards protagonist Johnny Utah because Keanu plays him with facial expressions about as emotive as a surfboard itself. SLJ
Street Dreams (2009)
Since the dawn of skateboarding, there has forever been a great curse hovering above any film attempting to take on a fictionalised skateboarding plot line. While failing to capture any semblance of a true portrayal of skateboarding, every skate movie, without exception has only succeeded in creating cheesy, vapid depictions of skate culture — and each unintentionally materialising as slapstick comedy.
Last year, the ultra-hyped Street Dreams, surfaced. Written and produced by pro skater/money making mogul, Rob Dyrdek, the film set out to represent skateboarding authentically by, amongst other things, casting real pro skaters as stars inlcuding P Rod, Terry Kennedy, Ryan Sheckler and Dyrdek himself) . Street Dreams, despite being crafted by a real skateboarder, also falls victim to the before mentioned curse.
P Rod plays the lead character, Derreck Cabrera, a kid who is determined to get sponsored despite his parent’s objections to his skate-obsessed lifestyle. After a bunch of plot elements that are too horrifically predictable and unsophisticated to mention, Derreck makes his way to the Tampa Am Contest where he hopes to blow minds with his skills, most specifically, his treflip crooked grind.
Despite a bunch of insanely bad acting and a script that’s pockmarked with standard skate cliché’s, the films one saving grace (if you could call it that) is that the on-screen skating is actually authentic, which isn’t too hard to accomplish when your entire lead cast are pros!
Highlights in Street Dreams? I can’t give you one. All I can offer is a warning. When it comes time to watch this one, watch something else. JR
The Skateboard Kid (1993)
This unbelievably dated epic follows the adventures of Zack, a kid who moves to a new town only to be hassled by a group of too-cool-for school skateboarders. That is until a freak accident helps Zack inherit a magical, talking skateboard called Rip (yes, really!).
As you can probably imagine, what ensues is nothing short of an absolute cheese fest but for every 10-year-old that saw this film when it was first released, there was nothing cooler than Rip!
This film guarantees several instances of uncomfortable laughter from the wise-cracking skateboard that sounds eerily like KITT from Knight Rider. This is because the voice is provided by the late Dom DeLuise, a New York comedian who featured in his very own variety show and was a favourite of Blazing Saddles director, Mel Brooks.
The protagonist is played by none other than Hollywood heartthrob and international superstar Trevor Lissauer, who has starred in such iconic films as Scream of the Bikini and Reno 911! Never heard of him? Yeah, me neither.
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Boardsport Celluloid part two (text) by Jon Williams, Jay Riggio, Shelley Lee Jones and David McNamara is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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