Dogtown and Z-Boys (PG-13, 2002)

Skateboard culture exploded in the 1970s when a band of renegade surfers in the rubble of Venice Beach, nicknamed "Dogtown," brought a sexy, guerilla version of skateboarding to the masses. DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS chronicles the Zephyr skate team and their roots as surfers, through a series of contemporary interviews and historical footage. Mostly street kids of broken working-class families, the Z-Boys would scour the then drought-ridden region for abandoned swimming pools, transforming the dormant pleasure land into a concrete tidal wave. Finding public success in the wake of the 1975 Del Mar skateboarding championship, the team would splinter as the members joined more commercial teams. Zephyr co-founder/writer Craig Stecyk would bring national-renown to Dogtown kids through a series of illustrated articles in Skateboarder magazine. These are the young men and women credited for skateboarding's 1970s explosion and who foreshadowed today's aggressive skate style.

Dogtown and Z-Boys combines film and still-photography to capture the spirit and style of the period. The filmmakers use tinting, a mixture of film stocks, slow-mo, quick rewind, and a rockin' underscoring to transform this history lesson into a visual and aural thrill ride. Those at the Sundance Film Festival stood up and took notice. The film won both the audience and director's awards for documentary, and it garnered a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize. The film also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture. Dogtown and Z-Boys revolves around interviews with a collection of Zephyr team members. Examining their rising stardoms and futures, the film presents a combination of wild successes and lost chances. Disaffected 1980s bad boy--and teenage California skater--Sean Penn (Taps, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) narrates.

Parents may find some of this film to be a bit risqué, and should definitely contemplate relaying the consequences of illegal actions such as breaking and entering and drug use into conversation before viewing. However, they might want to consider allowing their teens, especially skateboarding enthusiasts, to watch not only for the skate tricks, but also as a means of learning the potential negative effects of achieving fame so quickly and at such a young age.