Roller Boogie
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Movie Reviews of Roller Boogie
Movie Review: Exploitation Film with a Documentary Look
Summary: 3 Stars
Before the days of "in-line" skates there was a less forgiving variety that went in and out of fashion for a century with everyone but elementary school age children. "Roller Boogie" (1979) caught one of the periods when the activity had once again become trendy, especially with teenagers. Skate shops opened all over the place but the really trendy location was Venice, California. "Roller Boogie" involves a bunch of teens who hang around on the Venice boardwalk and do a lot of roller skating; and burn their eyeballs girl and boy watching.
Because much of the film is composed of many cinema verite ("fly on the wall film-making" where the filmmakers attempt to make their presence as unobtrusive as possible) documentary shots of real skaters engaging in real skating at this real location, the film is more interesting and impressive now than at the time of its release. "Breakin" was a similar film from the same time period which also unintentionally documented a portion of social history (insert break dancing here).
Of course those who went to "Roller Boogie" at the time of its release were mostly there to see Linda Blair in her abbreviated skating outfits; which had been widely showcased in the film distributor's marketing campaign. "Roller Boogie" was basically a cheap exploitation film that disappointed very few viewers because it delivered exactly what it promised and maybe a little bit more.
Rich girls Terry (Blair) and Lana (too old television actress Kimberly Beck) do their slumming on the boardwalk, where they skate up and down to the pop music beat from their now ancient looking transistor radio headphones. The plot is mostly about Terry's puppy love romance with Bobby (real life super-skater Jim Bray) the summer before she heads off to college.
There is also a story about developers conspiring to tear down the old roller rink. One of these is played by former "Lost in Space" pre-teen heartthrob Mark Goddard, whose career never took off after his adventures with Dr. Smith and the robot had made him famous. MST3K favorite Beverly Garland has a small part as Terry's rich mom.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child
Movie Review: Lind Blair never looked so good!
Summary: 3 Stars
Yes, I admit it. The ONLY reason I bought this DVD was to see Linda Blair in all her panty hosed/spandex glory. Was I disappointed? NO!!!!!!!!
Linda is fantastic as the young, nubile Theresa 'Terry' Barkley. About to go to Julliard, Terry picks up a new fad-Roller skating. She soon catches the eye of Robert "Bobby" James. (Played by Jim Bray, a real life champion skater, in his only film role) After turning down his advances at first, soon, he is teaching her how to `dance skate', and they fall in love. Mixed in the plot is a "Roller Boogie" contest which Terry wants to win, local mobsters who plan to close down the Boogie hall (and also have Terry's dad as their lawyer) and the young gang of skaters(Led by Bobbie and Terry) determined to stop them.
This being a "PG" film, Linda Blair does get nude, as she did in a few others but I like the fun spirit of this one, as opposed to the meaner, harder feeling of her other films.
And she looks simply stunning thru out the entire movie. Her body, while not nude, IS on display here quite often! And yes, Linda did do a lot of her own skating. It seems like she enjoyed making this movie and it shows on the screen.
I can think of worse ways to spend an hour and 40 minutes.
Movie Review: A definite time capsule
Summary: 3 Stars
Acting - FairPlot -Fair
Production - Good
Music - Definitely fun
Why would I like this film? For one thing, the outdoor shots of Venice, California are well-done, and bring back memories of an fun time in a long ago place. And the music? Well, OK, it's disco, break dancing music, but it's fun to watch, listen to, and remember. The cast is attractive, Linda Blair does a competent job, and the cinematography is pretty good.
The plot is the oldest storyline in the book: boy meets girl, boy hangs out in roller rink, boy loses girl, boy loses roller rink, boy gets girl, boy saves roller rink.
Mark Lester directed the film. Lester also directed one of the classic drive-in films of all time, "Truck Stop Women" in 1974. (Tag line from that flick - 'No Rig Was Too Big for the Truck Stop Women'. Classic? You bet!). Roller Boogie is of the same genre. Not meant to do anything but to put rear ends in the theater (or the drive-in), entertain you, and leave you happy you went.
On that score, Roller Boogie meets the goal. Extra star if you like the music.
Recommended if you like late 70's LA, roller skating, and disco.
Movie Review: The "Citizen Kane" of Roller Disco Films
Summary: 2 Stars
This one is a complete hoot. I caught this low-budget, formulaic 1979 film this past weekend on the big screen at the fully packed Castro Theater in San Francisco as part of a roller-disco midnight madness program. The crowd went wild at every absurd turn of the plot, and it's no wonder. Directed by potboiler specialist Mark L. Lester, this ultimate cheese of a roller disco musical avoids a permanent home in the video junk heap simply because of the sheer idiocy of the storyline and the wealth of unintentional humor permeating the film. There are movies that are intentionally vile and not worthy of reviewing, but this one is actually full of good spirits albeit with nothing in the way of taste, wit or common sense.
In what has to be the steepest career freefall for a former Oscar nominee, an extremely nubile, twenty-year old Linda Blair stars as Terry Barkley, a prodigious flautist on her way to Juilliard, who tires of being ignored by her wealthy, 90210-based parents and decides to run away to Venice Beach for a whole night. Upon meeting Bobby James, the king of the disco-driven roller skaters, she decides she wants to learn some moves to win the big roller boogie contest at Jammer's, the local roller disco rink. My favorite plot point is Bobby's aspiration to become an Olympic roller skating gold medalist...even though no one tells him it isn't an Olympic event. Of course, Terry is rich, Bobby is poor, and consequently, romantic sparks are inevitable. Complications, however, occur when a thuggish land developer blackmails Jammer to sell his rink, so he can raze the building and build a shopping mall. The rest of the plot is not worth disclosing except to say that it is as preposterous as the convoluted set-up, and thanks to the wooden acting, horrendous dialogue and hilarious skating sequences, it makes for grade-A camp entertainment.
In skin-tight leotards and enough make-up to scare off a Santa Monica Boulevard hooker, Blair makes a sincere attempt at portraying Terry's teenaged angst. Of course, it helps her professional standing that she is playing opposite real-life roller skating champion Jim Bray, a non-actor who was cast as Bobby only because the producers could not find a leading man who could actually skate. Innately geeky, the never-to-be-seen-again Bray certainly tries hard, though he is defeated by the film's numerous skating sequences which have been inserted so we can be impressed by his expertise. Instead, they provide the film's biggest laughs - the opening where he leads dozens of fellow skaters to the boardwalk to the strains of Cher's disco-diva anthem, "Hell on Wheels"; the ridiculous chase sequence through the streets of Venice where Terry and Bobby are chased unsuccessfully by a speeding car; the concluding roller boogie contest (of course); and in what has to be the absolute nadir, a solo skating number full of cornball treacle dedicated to the drunken Jammer.
Familiar faces from the baby-boomer TV generation dot the supporting cast, among them Beverly Garland ("Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and "My Three Sons") and Roger Perry ("The Facts of Life") as Terry's parents; and Mark Goddard ("Lost in Space") as the villainous land developer. If all that is not enough, there are other lures to consider - the blaring disco music; the groovy, circa-1979 clothes; the forced slapstick (in particular, a fruit-throwing melee and a very non-spontaneous pool dunking at a garden party). It's hard to think of a movie more execrable, yet the film has an endearing charm for all its misguided inanity. It's worthwhile just for the unintended guffaws. In the 1979-80 holy trinity of roller disco cinema, "Xanadu" may be "Gone With the Wind" and "Skatetown U.S.A." may be "West Side Story", but this one must certainly be "Citizen Kane".
Movie Review: Gluteus Maximus - The Movie
Summary: 1 Stars
I was the 'lucky' recipient of this contemporary classic in my ( sometime ) capacity as DVD reviewer for an online newsletter. However - as the regular author of that 'column' has returned from sabbatical and my efforts in his stead have now been rendered superfluous, I thought I might impart a few of my entirely idiosyncratic musings as regards this film. As an example of pure '70's cheese, one would be hard-pressed to find a better exemplar of the era, it's fashions, musical taste (in the sense of genre - don't listen for big hits on the soundtrack, because there aren't any ) and general cultural miliu. This movie should have been placed in a time capsule that future generations might gain a keener appreciation for just what the 'me' generation was really like. Apart from nostalgia, the single redeeming quality of 'Roller Boogie' is the presence of Linda Blair. She's the perky, archetypal teen heroine and actually a fairly good actress. However, it is her appearance in this film that will cause you to take real notice - ILM, eat your hearts out, because Ms. Blair should have won the award for best special effect the year this came out. I guarantee that you'll forget all about that snotty, pea-soup-spewing 12 year old from The Exorcist once you have seen this movie. She blossomed into a jaw-droppingly gorgeous young woman, and mere words do not suffice - if there was only one reason ( okay, two - Linda Blair's legs ) to see 'Roller Boogie', her presence in the film is it, and while I would love to give the movie a higher rating, I'm afraid I can't. If positive reviews for films were awarded soley on the basis of the beauty of the actresses, then I suppose 'Charlie's Angels' would be held up as the latest Citizen Kane - But it's not. And certainly, neither is this ( however, in a contest between the latest Demi Moore vehicle and 'Roller Boogie',I do feel this is a superior product ). As such, despite whatever captivation I felt/feel for the beautiful Ms. Blair, and her singular charms,I can only offer one star for this epic of adventure and romance in the roller rink.