Roller Boogie

Roller Boogie (1979)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Mark L. Lester

Starring: Linda Blair, Jim Bray, Kimberly Beck, James Van Patten

From: United Artists

After seeing some quality films I decided to go this route; I'll explain why in the Letterboxd review below. I'll be back tomorrow night.

I guess I've been watching too many quality films as of late... this was on TCM Underground last night and as I had never seen it and yet it looked hilarious 35 years after the fact, I knew this was finally the time to watch it.

You can probably guess that a movie about rollerskating disco dancers starring Linda Blair wouldn't technically be good and that was indeed the case. But Lord is it amusing. Blair is Terry, a teen daughter to rich inattentive parents who enjoys being on skates and prefers hanging out with the common folk at Venice Beach to her similarly wealthy peers. There eventually is both a “let's save the rec center” plot involving the local roller rink and “a big competition for a finale” & that's about it for the plot, aside from seeing friendships and budding romances, and Terry learning to become a better rollerskater dancer from a love interest.

Rather, let me mention such things as the clothing (constantly hilarious; e.g., guys in short shorts and striped socks) or how there are characters named PHONES, HOPPY, or JAMMER DELANEY, or how there are many leering close-up shots of women throughout or how a key character was played by Trish from Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter or how Dean Cundey did the cinematography or how it was directed by the guy that gave us Commando and Showdown in Little Tokyo... like I said I laughed often, even if it was at the dopey movie where characters act inconsistent and there are plenty of cliches.

I know it's silly but at least it's harmless. Like I said there's plenty of unintentional humor and at least there are some nice skating routines and you get to hear Boogie Wonderland and the song Hell on Wheels, by Cher during the disco portion of her long illustrious career. And you have to see what some “police officers” are wearing; I shake my head if that was an actual uniform at the time, even for a “bike cop”.