Wassup Rockers

Larry Clark
2005

Larry Clark's latest effort is a pleasant surprise to say the least. While the story once again centers on outsider youth, Clark eschews his tendency towards exploitative sensationalism and shock value tactics in favor of a more honest representation of the joys and difficulties of being a teen. While Clark's fans may find this less inflammatory picture a hokey cop-out, there's still enough hell-raising mayhem to give the film some bite and backbone.

The opening is an intimately awkward video interview with one of the film's infectiously likable non-actor moppets. From here we learn that he and his variously aged friends are a cultural oddity in their south central environs due to their attraction towards skateboarding, punk, and tight pants. The film picks up with the regular routine of a Friday in the life, and follows into a very eventful Saturday in which the kids hop the bus to skate in Beverly Hills. Once the wrong side of the tracks have been crossed things start to go haywire, but the ever charming devil-may-care attitude of skateboard ethos carries the group back home, well most of it anyway.

The most striking element of the film is that all the usual Larry Clark staples are in place here, namely a wayward group of overly sexual, drug abusing teens with a rebellious streak, albeit its a little watered down here. What makes "Wassup Rockers" so successful as opposed to other Clark films is the tone. Whereas "Kids" and "Bully" feel like films made by an adult trying to shock other adults (and entertain kids in the process), here's a film made by an adult with a genuine understanding of his subjects portraying them simply as they are, without excessive stylization. There's all the familiar sex and drugs, but for once its not the focus, and some of it even happens tastefully offscreen. The affection and appreciation for these kids is palpable even as the camera hones in on common teenage foibles, bizarrely grown nipple hairs, and zits.

The visual emphasis on skateboarding is pure eye candy. Clark clearly knows the power of the skate video and elevates it in a gloriously cinematic manner. The score is solid, with a much more unified feel than past Clark films aided in no small part by contributions from the actors' band who have a great little on screen performance themselves. Also the score is pretty much punk-centric giving the film a unified, uncluttered sound.

The film's most apparent misstep comes from an overly long (pre? post? coital) conversation between hispanic skater Kiko and a rich Beverly Hills admirer. The overly sentimental exchange is cute at first, but loses its appeal rapidly once it turns into trite, scripted exposition as Kiko explains life in South Central ("Its complicated out there..."). The picture's party crashing last reel is a bit jarring also, but easy to get into once it starts going. The indictment of Hollywood and L.A. cool is mercilessly funny, and effective in it's unsubtlety. When a none-too-veiled Clint Eastwood lookalike brings out the big guns (literally) and a preposterous Janice Dickinson parodies herself it is, at the very least, worth watching.

While this picture may be a fluke for Larry Clark, its definitely a step in the right direction. "Wassup Rockers" is the best film I've seen so far this year, and it would be nice to think that a director known for bandying pat sensationalism about could also turn to making fun, effective films like this.

Review by Brett A. Scieszka