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Stoked.
This is a fascinating history of Southern California's skateboarding
scene in the late 1980s, a profitable and exciting time for
then-rising superstars such as Tony Hawk, Lance Mountain, and
Steve Caballero, but a far darker experience for the much-worshipped
Mark "Gator" Rogowski. Helen Stickler's film begins
with an entertaining overview of skateboarding's renaissance
in the '80s, when Rogowski and other talented skaters in and
around Los Angeles developed a massive following of boys, who
in turn provided a market for flashy, Rogowski-endorsed designer
boards and accouterments. For a time, the charismatic, handsome
Gator became a wealthy sports celebrity in search of greater
pop-star status. When the skating scene shifted from the half-pipe
to the street, however, Rogowski's fortunes, sanity, and freedom
tragically erode. Stickler's thorough research, smart pacing,
and extensive interviews make this a compelling, cautionary
tale; a jailhouse phone interview with the now-mid-30s Gator
proves both enlightening and spooky. |
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