Wild Glide: Dogtown & Z Boys & New York Conversations
By Jan Aaron

If you think you need to see a movie about skateboarding as much as a fish needs a bicycle, you're wrong. Stacy Peralta's 90-minute documentary, Dogtown & Z-Boys, gives you a fascinating whirl through the freewheeling story of skateboarding 70s kids from the wrong side of the L.A. tracks. The movie is set in the down-at-the-heels beach towns of Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Ocean Park, known as "Dogtown,” itself the home of the Zephyr Productions Surf Shop. This was the hangout for this group of punk-rock latchkey kids who translated their love of surfboarding to skateboarding.

The group known as "Z-Boys”, who included Peralta, revolutionized the course of skateboarding with their contempt for convention and acrobatic derring-do. Sean Penn, who is still remembered for his role as the spaced out surfer Jeff Spicoly in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, narrates the film. Peralta and co-writer Craig Stecyk, get every inch of drama and excitement out of their story.

As kids, Z-Boys found they could fill in downtime for surfing by transferring their devil-may-care surf skills to the "asphalt waves” of playgrounds and empty swimming pools, which were everywhere at their disposal during the mid-70s California drought.

After winning many skate meets, the Z-Boys became superstars, who were courted by corporate sponsors, which eventually led to the team's demise.

Kudos must go to editor Paul Crowder for splicing together the wealth of magazine and newspaper articles, still photos, vintage footage, and recent interviews with the now-middle-aged skateboarders.

Crowder's pick of music from the 70s for the thumping soundtrack appropriately ignites the antics of yesterday's daredevils who opened the door for today's extreme sports craze.

Now to NY. Look for 13 Conversations About One Thing, a movie that interweaves five contemporary New York stories into a single tale that explores the dramatic impact people have on each other. Its star-studded cast include superb acting by Alan Arkin as cynical claims adjuster and Cleo Duval as somewhat mystical housekeeper.# (Dogtown, 90-minutes, PG strong language, drug references. Conversations, 102 minutes, R. For venues: 212-777-FILM.)

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