Texas in 1983 with muscle cars, rock and roll music, feathered hair, the roller rink: these are the main ingredients in Anthony Burns' film Skateland, which feels like a lesser clone of Dazed and Confused. Burns co-wrote the script with Brandon and Heath Freeman, and Heath co-stars in one of the films better performances. Burns and crew have impressively reproduced the early 1980s without the benefit of a budget, but the problem is that the atmosphere outshadows the story.
At the crux of Skateland lies the story of two friends growing up and coming to terms with what their lives will be, Ritchie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez) is just finishing high school and unsure of what his next step will be, while his best buddy Brent Burkham (Heath Freeman) is on the tail end of a mediocre career as a motorcross racer, and staring down the barrel of life as a blue-collar worker. Wheeler and Burkham have known each other since they were kids, and Wheeler has also fallen into a casual relationship with Burkham's sister Michelle (Ashley Greene).
Filed under: Sundance, Theatrical Reviews
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