ROLLER BOOGIE (1979)

REVIEW / MOVIES\ BOOGIE' MAY BE THE END FOR ROLLER-DISCO

Boston Globe - December 21, 1979

Author: Michael Blowen Globe Correspondent

A film directed by Mark Lester. Produced by Irwin Yablans. Starring Linda Blair and Jim Bray. At the Sack Beacon Hill and suburbs. Rated PG.

Everyone is always complaining that Hollywood never produces any films with social value. But "Roller Boogie" may change that. It may do something that all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't do - it may kill roller-disco once and for all.

It raises penetrating questions that haven't been addressed since James Darren went "moondoggy" over "Gidget." Can a classical flutist (Linda Blair)from Beverly Hills find true happiness with a champion skater from Venice (California, that is)? Can this pair of skate-crossed lovers save the roller-disco from demolition? Can they outwit an attempt by organized crime to put up a shopping mall? Will she give up her scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music to live forever on Speedway boulevard with this roller Romeo?

Purists will complain that all the essential inquiries into the nature of California Dreamin' were raised in such landmark films as "Bikini Beach" (1964), "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini"(1966), and "Gidget Grows Up"(1969). Some critics might complain that the performances of Linda Blair and Jim Bray aren't up to the high standards set by Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. But they're just not "with it."

Admittedly, "Skatetown, USA" was the first film to deal with this pressing social issue but we had to wait until "Roller Boogie" for the definitive word on roller-disco. Director Mark Lester's vision of this adolescent extravaganza seethes with the inherent dramatic tension of disco discs and a roll around the track at Jammer's Skateland. His camera never flinches even when confronted by such controversial scenes as a battle between the team of Blair and Bray and the rest of the roller-disco raconteurs in the Big Boogie Contest. He never once reaches for the profound when a cliche will suffice.

Linda Blair hasn't looked better since her head was spinning and she was expectorating green in "The Exorcist" and Jim Bray's screen debut is only surpassed by that of Tommy Rettig's in "The Last Wagon."

"Roller Boogie" has all the sensitivity, warmth, and insight of "Don't Knock the Twist" and it's in color. What more could a roller-disco fan ask for

SKATETOWN USA (1979)

REVIEW / MOVIES\ SKATETOWN' A DISCO DISASTER

Boston Globe - December 12, 1979

Author: MICHAEL Blowen

SKATETOWN, USA - A film written, directed and produced by William Levey. Starring Scott Baio, Ron Palillo, Kelly Lang, Maureen McCormick, Greg Bradford and Patrick Swayze. At the Sack Saxon and suburbs. Rated PG.

It took writer-producer-director William Levey two days to draft the story for "Skatetown, USA" and he wasted his time. He should have rolled on down to the local roller-disco and boogied the two days away instead of subjecting unsuspecting audiences to this embarrassingly inept disco disaster.

Obviously, Levey wanted to cash in on roller-disco before this tentative trend ended up in a garage filled with hula hoops. He assembled some bubble gum stars from television - Scott Baio of "Happy Days," Ron Palillo of "Welcome Back Kotter" and Maureen McCormick of "The Brady Bunch" - and even threw in Flip Wilson and Ruth Buzzi for any adults suffering from arrested development.

Levey achieved his objective. "Skatetown, USA" is the first roller-disco movie to hit the screen. But he forgot to tie his dramatic laces together. Instead of dazzling us with unforgettable twists, turns, somersaults and light shows, Levey simply records the dreary details of these cinematic stumblebums.

Perhaps this judgment is too harsh for such an innocuous piece of fluff. Actually it does have one redeeming feature. It is only scheduled to play in Boston for a week.