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Wassup Rockers (2005) Certificate 15

Wassup Rockers
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Rated 3.0 stars
Average rating
(57%)
 
Starring: Jessica Steinbaum | Carlos Velasco | Yunior Usualdo Panameno | Jonathan Velasquez | Ashley Maldonado | Luis Rojas-Salgado | Milton Velasquez | Jeremy Scott | Chris Neville | Iris Zelaya | Eddie Velasquez | Francisco Pedrasa | Claire Cellucci
Director: Larry Clark
Studio: REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT
Run time: 106 mins
Genres: Drama
Languages: English
Released: February 26, 2006

In 1995, photographer Larry Clark burst onto the indie scene with the controversial KIDS, a tough, realistic look at a group of teenagers hanging around the seamier side of New York City, getting involved in sex and drugs amid the AIDS crisis. A decade later, Clark (BULLY, KEN PARK) went across the country to make WASSUP ROCKERS, about a group of Latino teenagers experimenting with sex, playing and listening to punk rock, dressing in their own style, and looking for the perfect place to skateboard. The seven teens, led by Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez), take two buses to get to Beverly Hills High, where they start boarding down difficult steps. They are excited when two white students, Jade (Laura Cellner) and Nikki (Jessica Steinbaum), invite them to their house, but they are soon on the run after being harassed by a racist cop (Chris Neville). They make it to the huge house, but they have to take off again when Jade and Nikki's rich white male friends catch them there, sending them off on a perilous journey through ritzy Beverly Hills as they try to get back to South Central--what one of them proudly calls the Ghetto. No matter how hard the kids try, they are unable to avoid violence; it is too entrenched in their dangerous world. In this gritty urban drama of class conflict, racism, and boys just trying to be boys, Clark displays how deep the ills of society still go, all set to a raging punk soundtrack featuring songs by such bands as South Central Riot Squad, the Remains, Moral Decay, and the Retaliators.

Highest rated reviews

10 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3.0 stars
Kids in America

GreenwichPaul from , 13th May, 2007

Larry Clark is back in familiar territory with his film about a group of punk-rocking Latino skateboarders who venture across LA from South Central to Beverly Hills to go skating; encountering sexual adventures and random violence during the day. Perhaps less successful than Clark's best, this is still a highly enjoyable film which benefits from the naturalistic acting (even though it is a little shaky at times) and the free-wheeling directorial style which gives space to the beauty of place and character. Unfortunately the film is uneven in tone and a couple of scenes jar badly, making this a film that is better in parts than as a whole. Still, fans of Clark and indie-cinema will find much to enjoy here.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3.0 stars
Engaging

Ell1981 from from London, 16th November, 2009

A serious and subtle approach unlike previous Clark efforts works well and conveys the frustration of youth well.

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Rated 0.0 stars
I like Larry Clark, but...

A Customer from London, 13th September, 2009

... this film is dreadful. It goes to show that Larry Clark needs young talent (such as Harmony Korine) to write his films, as this feels like an old man making a mis-judged film about teenagers. It is full of cliche and stupid repetitive 'jokes'. Just awful. Rent Kids instead.

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Rated 0.0 stars
Larry Clark's Downfall

AndyC13 from from Surrey, England, 21st January, 2009

For those who are familiar with Larry Clark's masterpieces 'Bully' & 'Kids' maybe interested in seeing more of his work. Sadly, Wassup Rockers does everything to help us forget how good a director and writer Clark is. With no apparant script, the film is a random collection of Latino kids on the bottom rung of Californian society, skating around attempting tricks (mostly failing, in scenes which run far too long) and playing in a (painfully bad) punk rock band. The plot is rather simple in the sense of the kids trying to escape violence, but Clark's techniques have worked against him - creating no tension or suspense and only enducing face-scratching torment on the viewer. The central character John is portrayed as 'hot stuff', which is rather confusing considering how a 14 year old with an achingly pre-pubescent moustache can be viewed upon this way. The film is an ordeal to sit through, and should be avoided

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Most recent reviews

Rated 3.0 stars
A different Larry Clark

A Customer from Coatbridge, 23rd June, 2008

This is in part a docudrama about teenage boys from the infamous south-central LA. It's not as bleak as some other films from Larry Clark. Partly because the actors are only 15-16 years old, so no drug or sex in your face this time. In fact this is sometimes quite funny although there are a few casualties during the boys' excursion to Beverly Hills - most of the music is punk performed and made by some of the actors.

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