Review: Skateboard The Movie (1978)

Skateboard: The Movie
Director: George Gage
Stars: Allen Garfield, Kathleen Lloyd and Leif Garrett

Produced when skateboarding was still in it's infancy as a legit sport, Skateboard: The Movie is a time capsule revealing not only how far "skating" has come but film making as well.

A group of punks on wheels attack a portly, balding man (Manny Blum) for his wallet. He scolds the youths and shortly after receives a call from his bookie that he is in deep debt with. To stall the bookie Blum announces he is going to make the money back to pay off his debt with a Skateboard team he’s managing.

Blum gets the extension he needs, but soon finds himself with a massive headache trying to get his new found team ready for the Skateboard Championship.

Shot in 1978 this movie feels like an exploitation film, but is actually a family friendly production. I say Exploitation because way the entire movie is shot seems a little gritty.

Looking more like a documentary with improvised dialog, you just expect the movie to take a hard left turn into Juvenile Delinquency territory at any minute. It almost seems like one long shot, unedited with the players walking in and out of the cameras view.

The skateboarding featured is downright tame by today’s standards; with just the just the most juvenile stunts being performed. A very young Tony Alva shows up, as well as Leif Garrett who gets top billing as the star.

An enjoyable film based off its unbelievable ineptness alone, with unintentionally hilarious dialog is an added bonus.

I think this movie could have been better if they had gone with an “R” rating. What made movies like the Bad News Bears so funny is the fact the kids swore, fought, drank, and smoked. There are times when it seemed like the logical next line to come out of a kids mouth would be “Fuck You.”  Too bad it didn’t.