It seems that the story of Romeo and Juliet can be
translated into almost any setting. Troma took it strange, WEST SIDE STORY took
it to the gang filled streets of New York and this movie moves the setting to
sunny California during the heyday of the skateboarders.
A young Josh Brolin stars as Corey Webster, a skateboarder
with a dream to skate in the most death defying downhill run in the country
called the LA Massacre that takes place in Los Angeles. With a little cash in
pocket he heads west where he plans to stay with friends there. New to town
when the group hits the seaside beach area set up for skateboarders, he strays
into the turf run by The Daggers. This must be a tough group because, well,
they’re decked out in black leather and just look tough.
Okay in case you didn’t recognize the sarcasm there this is
a movie with 80s written all over it, everything from the slang to the look.
Between the punked out make up and the style of clothing you keep waiting for
Kajagoogoo or Flock of Seagulls to pop up somewhere. But seeing as how this is
LA during the huge punk scene instead you get an early Red Hot Chili Peppers
and the Circle Jerks.
Back to our movie. Corey catches the eye of a hot young girl
among the Daggers named Chrissy (Pamela Gidley). A bit of flirting and a meet
later sets the romance in motion between these two. Unfortunately Corey isn’t
aware that Chrissy is the little sister of Tommy (Robert Russler), the leader
of the Daggers and a skateboarding champ in the area. Once he discovers what is
going on he sets out to keep the two apart but we know that isn’t likely.
A showdown between the two prior to the LA Massacre leaves
Corey with a broken forearm and unable to compete. Complications between him,
Chrissy and Tommy leave Chrissy on a bus heading home and a tale of inspiration
that leads Corey to the LA Massacre where he intends to compete, broken arm or
not. Taped up and ready to go the race is on with the winner able to decide the
fate of all three.
Understand up front that this is not Masterpiece Theater.
Instead we have a genre that’s been around as far back as I can remember, the
exploitation film. Don’t think that exploitation films are all about gangsters
and horror flicks. The teen drama was a staple for years before this movie arrived.
It now joins that genre as well offering a lot of fun, a travel through time
into the 80s world that will leave many a parent now trying to deny to their
own teens that they ever dressed or looked like this.
The movie is well made, well shot, filled with some terrific
stunts and solid acting by all around. Watching this you might not have a clue
that Brolin would one day star in an Oscar winning film or become a solid star
as an adult but it happened. It would make a great double bill with THE GOONIES
though since he was about the same age in both.
The quality of the reproduction here is solid and looks
great. Once again, it’s nice to see a company like Olive Films taking care with
a movie that isn’t heralded as the greatest movie ever made and offering it the
respect that all movies deserve. It’s entertaining, it’s fun and it’s well
worth taking a look at. And if you grew up in the 80s, you’ll want to add this
to your collection to watch when the kids aren’t home.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment