Review of Lords of Dogtown (2005) by Lorenzo V — 05 Oct 2008

Skip: "You gotta approach every day as if it's your last!".

The true story of the kids who created modern skateboard culture is recreated in this drama. In the early '70s, skateboards were seen as a fad of the 1960s that had all but died out, but in a rough-and-tumble Venice, CA, community known as "Dogtown," that was about to change. Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk), Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) were three guys who liked to surf the rugged beaches around Venice and hung out at the Zephyr Surf Shop, a store run by Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger) that stocked gear for adventurous surfers and skateboarders. With the advent of new urethane wheels that connected with concrete in a way old metal and rubber wheels could not, Tony, Stacy, and Jay began exploring ways to translate radical surf style to skateboarding, and the guys invented a new way to skate inside the smooth, round surfaces of empty pools, employing vertical moves and edge flips that added a new and dramatic spin to skating. It didn't take long for word to spread about the wild new style of the Z-Boys, and they quickly became local celebrities, and later nationwide skating stars, though sudden fame took its toll on these young men. The true story of Lords of Dogtown was previously the basis of the acclaimed documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, directed by former Z-Boy Stacy Peralta, who like Tony Alva served as a consultant on this project.

Lords of Dogtown is one of the best movies to come out of 2005. It has it's funny parts then its more dramatic meaningful parts, the two contrasts of the both make the film really enjoyable. If you love the whole surf/skateboard scene you will absolutely love it! Great acting by the skating trio and so is Heath Ledger as their manager per se, Skip Engblom.

Skateboarding today is entirely different from the skateboarding in the '70s. Today's skateboarders mostly rely on high-flying octane tricks while '70s skateboarding is mostly land tricks. Most tricks are even derived from surfing. Its like surfing on land back in the seventies.

Great story, great cast, great director. Kudos to the cast and crew for making an excellent film.