Set in the early 1970's this story follows a boy named Teddy who is confronted by many bad events in an era of freedom, and easy going. The title of the movie refers to a roller rink where Teddy is a manager and has worked all 4 years of high school. unfortunately it goes out of business due to the rise of disco's and the club scene. this is just the beginning of his teenage drama's.
Teddy's closest friends are this brother and sister whom he is very close to their family as well. The sister, Michelle, is his closest girl that is a friend and becomes the apple of his eye throughout the movie. Her brother, Ritchie, is a washed up professional motorcycle rider with the smoothest mustache and most bad ass ride in town well... that's where Kenny comes into the movie. Kenny is a rich, blonde, lake house owning party boy who is like the cool kid with a brand new chevy camaro. It seems these two boys are the cream of the manly crop. Unfortunately his parents are dead, which I learned by talking to the director afterwords, so he has nothing but cash to keep him happy.
Teddy is thrown all sorts of curve balls as he is faced with death, rivals, girl problems, college, and the loss of Skateland. For a teenager fresh out of high school and in between college and the last 19 years of his life he can't decide what to do. to make things harder his choices are bombarded by conflict after conflict.
As Teddy is forced into unemployment his search for a new job just as good as Skateland fails. When he tries to relax and enjoy himself his friend Ritchie is hooking up with girls that belong to his rivals which in turn cause the death Ritchie after an intense chase after a party by the girls boyfriend. teddy survives the accident and is left horrified by the turn of events. Not knowing what to do with himself, whether to stay in town or go away to college, his world falls apart.
He goes for some R and R at a bar and see's his own mom with another man this soon follows the divorce and the falling apart of his family ties. As his little sister tries to make his mind up for him by applying to a bunch of colleges Teddy lashes back at saying he would rather stay instead of pursuing his future.
As Michelle and Teddy become romantically involved, Michelle makes the first move, she then is quickly thrown away from her pathway and goals as the death of her brother Ritchie forces her to rethink her life, so she runs away. It seems his world has fallen apart.
When it seems all Teddy can do is nothing he receives a lovely letter from the University of Houston where he is gratefully accepted along with a nice scholarship. He then goes to Michelle and says "we're going" as the two decide to go to college together following with a romantic closing kissing scene.
The movie covered media influence as MTV was first introduced in that time. So the shift to a teen-happy media induced world was about to come as MTV typically defines "cool." After the movie was over we talked to the director and Anthony Burns most impotently said "I chose this era because ti was when women were the strongest, this was after the civil right movement and I wanted every woman character to influence the audience." and theat every female was to glow and inspire. I gave this movie 4.7/5 stars.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
SIFF's "The Actresses": 6 powerful women, 1 room
The ActressesThe Seattle International Film festival movie "The Actresses" is a tale of the most prominent Korean drama actresses in a mocumentary of a photo shoot set up by Vogue magazine showcasing the women as "more beautiful than jewelry." The 6 actresses all coming to the studio were all nervous in their own way as the intimidation factor of each actresses ego and reputation would trump each others and create conflict.
As the actresses arrived each one brought their career with them. One who was fresh out of work and had been divorced with some extra baggage. Another who had just flown in from Tokyo and had no time to do this shoot as she was scheduled to leave the next day. One, old, who was quite experienced but had all the characteristics of a grandma which she hated very much. The age range was in full as it covered from old to very young, that being 21. There was the diva, the elder, the new elder, the fat one/drunk, the young one, and the in between one. Each of them either had too much work, none at all, or were steadily putting along.
That being, this spectrum of talented women brought many stories and personalities to the table, literally. They are all usually sitting or standing around something, whether it be a makeup mirror, dinner table, or coffee table. Each sharing stories of one another and how their lives have been in the actresses realm. Each one based on age and appearance/beauty has altered their stories.
Their stories entailed a life of hard work and constant influence on their own morals, way, and path of life. Whether it be an image they had to sustain for the public eye(paparazzi) or being worked so much that their whole life had been ruined where they had no husband and no friends. Their spotlights had forced them to be the utmost standard of beauty as their lives were practically media. Each of their employers were the conglomerates of Korea and if they failed to please them, they would be out of work.
The bechdel test was no question in this movie. The mention of a man was only that of a homosexual one, or a divorced piece of history. No mention of any male figures came up in the movie as the only men you saw were either in a relationship or gay. it was truly all about the actresses and they got an A+ on the test in that respect.
As the actresses opened up to one another their stories were all alike. The industry had ruined their love lives and worked them to the bone. They had been demanded the most out of their images and been used as trophies of television. When all was said and done the women all knew they had to maintain and be strong in an business that demanded them at their best. This movie was all shot in one studio so it was very hard to enjoy it but the relation to the class could not have been better. i just wish it had a conflict and resolution.
As the actresses arrived each one brought their career with them. One who was fresh out of work and had been divorced with some extra baggage. Another who had just flown in from Tokyo and had no time to do this shoot as she was scheduled to leave the next day. One, old, who was quite experienced but had all the characteristics of a grandma which she hated very much. The age range was in full as it covered from old to very young, that being 21. There was the diva, the elder, the new elder, the fat one/drunk, the young one, and the in between one. Each of them either had too much work, none at all, or were steadily putting along.
That being, this spectrum of talented women brought many stories and personalities to the table, literally. They are all usually sitting or standing around something, whether it be a makeup mirror, dinner table, or coffee table. Each sharing stories of one another and how their lives have been in the actresses realm. Each one based on age and appearance/beauty has altered their stories.
Their stories entailed a life of hard work and constant influence on their own morals, way, and path of life. Whether it be an image they had to sustain for the public eye(paparazzi) or being worked so much that their whole life had been ruined where they had no husband and no friends. Their spotlights had forced them to be the utmost standard of beauty as their lives were practically media. Each of their employers were the conglomerates of Korea and if they failed to please them, they would be out of work.
The bechdel test was no question in this movie. The mention of a man was only that of a homosexual one, or a divorced piece of history. No mention of any male figures came up in the movie as the only men you saw were either in a relationship or gay. it was truly all about the actresses and they got an A+ on the test in that respect.
As the actresses opened up to one another their stories were all alike. The industry had ruined their love lives and worked them to the bone. They had been demanded the most out of their images and been used as trophies of television. When all was said and done the women all knew they had to maintain and be strong in an business that demanded them at their best. This movie was all shot in one studio so it was very hard to enjoy it but the relation to the class could not have been better. i just wish it had a conflict and resolution.
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