Lords of Dogtown Movie Review 2005

Another ego-trip down memory lane for writer and original Z-Boy Stacy Peralta, serving as a dramatic reenactment to his documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys." A motley crew of surfer-turned-skater kids in 1975's Venice, CA, turn skateboarding into a pop-culture revolution. The movie version of their story, however, is a bit of a wipe out. The skating looks great, but some botched acting and poor pacing confuses everything. Ledger does his best with the clumsy role of Zephyr founder Skip Englom, but others, mostly real life skater kids, aren't as convincing. Starts to click in the second-half, but still riddled with bad dialogue and rushed storytelling. Loaded with cameos, mostly by pro skate veterans, and one by the late, great, cult stand-up comic Mitch Hedberg.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Running time 107 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Skateboarding, Buddies, Period Piece: 1970s, Price of Fame, True Stories

Screenplay

Stacy Peralta

Cast

Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Nikki Reed, Michael Angarano, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville

Cinematography

Elliot Davis

Director

Catherine Hardwicke

Music

Mark Mothersbaugh

Other

Liza Richardson, Nancy Richardson, Seth Reed, Chris Gorak

Producer

John Linson, Linson Films, Sony Pictures