Excellent but underrated film

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is a great slice of fake nostalgia - the 70s never was so clean or easy but this is a fun family movie with roller skating as the theme.With a number of threads to the plot, coping with grief, new neighbors, closing of their Southside skating rink etc; this was complex enough to keep adults interested.Above all Bow Wow yet again delivers a great performance. He has a brilliant charm here, modest and likable, but fresh in places. It all just works really well. The skating is great fun and the music is good too.This is a fun and funny movie about being a teenager in the 1970s and deserves a wide audience.Recommended

Engaging disco fantasy set in 1978 from writer Norman Vance, Jr., who seems to have overdosed on a mixture of roller-boogie movies and reruns of "What's Happening!!" Five teenage friends from the Southside of Chicago are let down after their local skating rink is closed for good, forcing them into the city's deluxe roller palace, where all the coolest cats hang out; soon they're engaged in a winner-take-all skating contest. Since there were absolutely no decent movies made about the roller disco craze during the 1970s, it's nice to finally get a good one. However, Bow Wow's broken family dynamic--which chews up far too much of the screen-time--is doggedly sincere and "emotional". Perhaps showing more skating practice on the boys' part might have been more beneficial to the big showdown at the finale. That last act is pure commercial pandering, nearly losing the film's heart and comically-grounded focus. The cinematography is disappointing, as is the editing, although the cast is uniformly excellent and the music is terrifically energized: disco never sounded so good! **1/2 from ****

I grew up at the end of the 4-wheel skate days, but did spend enough time at the rink to smile a few times and nod at memories. The soundtrack is fantastic. I haven't tried to track down an official soundtrack (not sure how many of the songs from the movie made it). The acting was surprisingly good. I didn't expect much out of Bow Wow. I guess it helps that the lines they were delivering were straight out of real life. The cut downs, the psyche outs, all of it, true, true, true. I even like the fact that the ending, which I will not elaborate on, is more realistic than you would expect. For a film that was practically straight formula, I was very surprised at how much fun I had watching it.

This movie was pretty awesome to me. I loved the skating and all the old school music. Bow Wow's performance wanted make ME go out and skate. I bet it took a lot of practice and falling to learn how to skate like that. I am only just a beginner, I cant even imagine. I loved the scene when all the guys are sitting in X's living room joking on each other. And don't even get me started on SWEET-NESS. He can skate with me any day. If you have not seen this movie, run (I mean skate) to your nearest video store and rent a copy. You will be skating in no time and having fun. Which this movie is all about. Well I am going to go watch Roll Bounce (again) and then go hit the rink.