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Roll Bounce (2005)
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Reviews Counted:86
Fresh:55
Rotten:31
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: Roll Bounce dazzles us with a classic late 1970's feel, but this coming of age film could have been more than just a spin around the roller rink.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Full of the humor, mild humiliation, and bittersweet lessons of growing up, this coming-of-age comedy from Malcolm D. Lee (UNDERCOVER BROTHER) unfolds on the South Side of 1970s Chicago. Xavier... Full of the humor, mild humiliation, and bittersweet lessons of growing up, this coming-of-age comedy from Malcolm D. Lee (UNDERCOVER BROTHER) unfolds on the South Side of 1970s Chicago. Xavier (Bow Wow, LIKE MIKE) and his wisecracking crew of friends rule the local roller skating rink, but when it closes their summer looks to be an empty one. Reluctantly, they head over to Sweetwater, the glitzy rink across town where the rich kids skate, and where the cocky Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan) presides over all as the unchallenged king of the floor. The boys are ridiculed upon their arrival, and soon vow revenge at the upcoming competition, for which they begin to hone their skills. Meanwhile, X deals with his troubles at home, as his mother has recently died and his dad, Curtis (Chi McBride, I, ROBOT), struggles to make ends meet. The two attempt to understand each others' grief, and help one another to move beyond it. X also makes the acquaintance of new kid Tori (Jurnee Smollett, COSBY), a gawky girl with braces and a sharp tongue, who tags along with the boys as an ugly duckling, later to emerge a swan. Tori's hot mom (Kellita Smith, KING'S RANSOM) attracts a great deal of attention on the block, notably from two quick-talking garbage men (Mike Epps and Charles Q. Murphy in a hilarious bit part), and X tries to navigate his budding relationship with the seemingly-unattainable Naomi (Meagan Good, D.E.B.S.). The roller disco mania is infectious, driven by a great soundtrack featuring artists both new and old. The story, too, hits all the right notes, by turns touching and hilarious, with the underdogs-make-good story avoiding the saccharine, and giving Bow Wow the chance to shine. [More]
Starring: Bow Wow, Mike Epps, Meagan Good, Charlie Murphy
Starring: Bow Wow, Mike Epps, Meagan Good, Charlie Murphy, Kellita Smith, Marcus Paulk, Khleo Thomas, Chi McBride, Jurnee Smollett, Nick Cannon, Wesley Jonathan, Brandon T. Jackson, Busisiwe Irvin
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Screenwriter: Norman Vance
Producer: Jeremiah Samuels, Robert Teitel, George Tillman
Composer: Stanley Clarke
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Reviews for Roll Bounce
For some reason, teasing people about their skin color has become a big theme of brainless black comedies like this. Plus, it unfolds like one long Pepsi ad, with dialogue extolling the cola's virtues in virtually every scene.
Worthy of a 99-cent rental, if only so you can witness the howlingly awful performance by Wesley Jonathan as a self-appointed roller-disco mega-lord called "Sweetness." Kid had me in tears, I swear.
Nothing about this film is as cathartic as it tries to make itself because the characters just aren’t that absorbing. Instead of tugging your heart, it just spits in your eye.
This is the 40th "skating movie" to hit the screens since Charlie Chaplin's The Rink (1915). It is neither the best nor the worst of them - skater dudes may think its cool, but 25 years ago there was the much maligned Xanadu with ELO, ONJ and (sigh!) stil
It would take a critic more churlish than this one to sneer and bare chickenlike talons at Roll Bounce
The skating routines are a lot of fun to watch, filled with great choreography and backed by great tunes.
Actually one of the year's more pleasant surprises, though it misses being more than that through a combination of length and a sometimes sloppy, meandering screenplay.
A nice blast of character-driven nostalgia with the best use of Charlie Murphy and Wayne Brady since Chapelle snapped.
The well-blended mix of music, humor, 70s swagger and poignancy allows "Roll Bounce" to stand out. Fun and touching.
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