With plenty of good-natured humor and poignant appeal, Roll Bounce is a teenage movie set in the 70’s. It works on the formula of teen groups facing off at a competition, but manages to get past it to talk about relationships, maturity and that winning may not always be the ultimate goal.
Director Malcolm D. Lee is able to portray Chicago in 1978 with conviction without being overcome by sappy nostalgia, or the typical over-emphasis of fads to which most movies of this genre fall prey. There is the music of the time, the skating, the clothes, plaid bell bottoms and all, but somehow the movie seems fresh and not canned. The only thing pinning it to the past is perhaps the wholesomeness, which is a bit rare in today’s movies.
Bow Wow as X (Xavier) is natural screen self, much unlike a lot of other rapper-turned-actors, and shares his screen with others when required with ease. He plays a likeable, sporty Chicago South Side teenager, with a yen for skating. He hides his grief for his recently deceased mother under a cloak of ready cheer, wit, and charm. His father Curtis (Chi McBride), is equally devastated by the death of X’s mother, but since none of them let it show or share it much with each other, they have angry, frustrated moments which get resolved only at the very end.
Curtis is also laid off his job and keeps it a secret from his X and his sister, Sonya (Busisiwe Irvin). Into this scene, X and his friends discover that their favorite summer haunt, the local Palisades Gardens Roller Rink, is to be shut down. Lost for options, they decide to shift to the North Side’s swanky Sweetwater rink, where the uproariously self-loving Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan) holds court. The ensuing show off is regular movie fare, but here the relationship between X and his father are thrown into sharp relief, and in a way, it is Curtis who seems to anchor the movie together. His solid presence and immaculate acting seems to do a lot to wrench a good performance out of Bow Wow.
The large supporting cast, of X’s friends and neighbors, and Sweetness’s posse, does a commendable job as well. Worth particular mention is Tori (Jurnee Smollett), as the gutsy new girl on the block with a sunny smile full of braces. Indeed it often seems like Brandon T. Jackson, Marcus T. Paulk, Rick Gonzalez ,Khleo Thomas and Wayne Bradie overshadow Bow Wow a bit with their stronger acting.
The choreography of the skating is exceptional, with some fine moments on the rink, where the juveniles try to show off adult abilities while zooming about the polished floor. The musical score comes off very well, and the skate marathons set to Donna Summers do not disappoint. The soundtrack juggles the eras with tracks like “Kung Fu Fighting”, and spices itself up with lines from “Boogie Oogie Oogie” and “Wishing on a Star.”
The only shortcoming the movie faces is when the family angle and that of teen prowess do not mix as easily as they are supposed to and one is left wondering exactly which path had the director originally meant to take. The extraordinarily sweet disposition of the movie can be another reason the movie may not appeal to youngsters, but it will make a charming pastime for those who have lived the times it depicts when they decide to rent this movie.
That said, the movie is a sincere attempt to bring alive Chicago in ’78, and along with the superficial sugar and polish, there is enough sap in the father-son relationship to carry the movie through. And though this movie would do nothing to toughen Bow Wow’ s softie image, it is well worth a spin over the weekend for young people of all ages!
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