oneirophrenia | Boogie Night

I just watched the flyest movie: Roll Bounce.

It's a pretty simple film following a very tried-and-true story: down-and-out youth from the South Side of I believe Philadelphia prove themselves worthy via big roller-disco competition at the big-time glitzy rink on the North Side called Sweetwater. Plus, there's the usual coming-of-age story and the whole dead-mother thing, too....nothing I haven't seen a million times before. There is nothing original in this film whatsoever. But who cares? It's so much goddamned fun!

First of all, the movie nails the late '70s in both look, cultural content, and music. It gots Atari (the boys are playing Asteroids in one scene), rollerskating, Kool & The Gang ("Hollywood Swinging," not their later "smoove B" stuff), wing-collar polyester shirts, bellbottoms, jive-talkin', afros, very wide belts--everything you can think of when you think: 1978 roller disco. The performances are all surprisingly strong (including that of "Bow Wow," some teenage rapper, who plays the main character X), the humor is spot-on and strong in the power of late-70s jive, and--best of all--this is a film that just flatout has fun with black culture. No one's shooting anybody, pretending to be thugs or gangstas, talkin' shit on bitches and hos, or anything like that: the big showdown in the film isn't a stereotypical fight or a shootout, it's a skate-off between X and the Sweetwater's bigtime roller-hero, Sweetness...who, I might add, is the literal embodiment of the word SWANK. It's a very warm, positive story, and so what if it's ridiculously cliched? It's fun, it's got Da Funk, and it's just good to watch.

And let me tell you...the musical direction of the film is perfect. We find some of the biggest rollerdisco numbers of the '70s proudly featured: Hues Corporation, "Rock the Boat"; KC & The Sunshine Band, "Boogie Man"; A Taste of Honey, "Boogie Oogie Oogie"; Chic, "Le Freak"; and many others. Thank god I didn't see this in the theatre, or I would've been shakin' my groove thang in front of the screen and acting like a damn fool.

It's a great damn film, especially if you dig the '70s and disco. And rollerskating. I got two out of the three, definitely...but I can't skate worth a shit. But now I'm all in the mood to go to the one disco night that happens somewhere on the Strip on Saturday nights.