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ddock1
Reviews
Roll Bounce (2005)
NOT true to 1978
Beyond the story line, there are just too many things that don't ring true to 1978, which was when the competition was supposed to have taken place. I was a teenager in the late 70's, so it was easy for me to spot the inconsistencies. The Pepsi can with a big bar code was definitely early 80's. There was no need for those bar codes on merchandise until the grocery stores started using the scanner registers in the early 80's. The boom box was also early 80's. The guys in long baggy shorts were late 80's at least. Tight shorts and jeans were the thing in the late 70's. I personally saw 2 guys I knew get suspended from my junior high for wearing very tight jeans to school with no underwear. These guys were mature enough to have something to show. I suppose they were trying to imitate Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin). LOL! A few of the songs in the Roll Bounce soundtrack were also post 1978. Couldn't believe the characters in the movie were supposed to not know who the Bee Gees were. Had to be living under a rock somewhere to miss Saturday Night Fever in 1977. Right up there with Star Wars in the same year. It wasn't just a white thing. I remember hearing Bee Gees music played everywhere from the mall, to the record store, to restaurants on their juke box. Totally inescapable, no matter if you liked their music or not. I was also having a hard time with the way the Southside neighborhood was portrayed in the movie. As they walked out of the skating rink that had just closed, the neighborhood appeared to be run down, and they were talking about it possibly becoming a liquor store, as if they were in the middle of the ghetto. Then when X got to his house, it was in a middle class area with a few nice brick 2 story homes nearby. His father (Chi McBride) owned a classic red Mustang. Also his girlfriend Naomi lived in a very nice house. My older cousin grew up in Chicago and was also a teen in the 70's, and this portrayal doesn't seem to fit with his description of the Southside in the 70's. It was supposedly a very rough neighborhood. Anyway, just think the movie could have been a little better if they had tried to pay attention to details and portray the Southside and the 70's like they really were. The young actors were not even born then, so they had no reference to the times. I expected to see more of Nick Cannon, but his role was very minor. Couldn't help but laugh at Wayne Brady as DJ Johnny Feelgood.