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Awkward title aside, Wassup Rockers is Larry Clark on good vibes. For his fifth feature, the photographer-turned-filmmaker turns his lens towards a close-knit band of Latino teens. They dress like the Ramones (long hair, tight jeans) and crank out a brand of hardcore that suggests early Suicidal Tendencies--mostly, they live to surf the sidewalks of LA. The central rocker is 15-year-old Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez, rough but charming). He's joined by Milton, Kico, Eddie, Porky, Louie, and Carlos (like Velasquez, all non-professionals). As unlikely as it may sound, the storyline parallels The Swimmer and The Warriors
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Awkward title aside, Wassup Rockers is Larry Clark on good vibes. For his fifth feature, the photographer-turned-filmmaker turns his lens towards a close-knit band of Latino teens. They dress like the Ramones (long hair, tight jeans) and crank out a brand of hardcore that suggests early Suicidal Tendencies--mostly, they live to surf the sidewalks of LA. The central rocker is 15-year-old Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez, rough but charming). He's joined by Milton, Kico, Eddie, Porky, Louie, and Carlos (like Velasquez, all non-professionals). As unlikely as it may sound, the storyline parallels The Swimmer and The Warriors in that their goal is to get from one end of town to the other, i.e. from Beverly Hills to South Central. (The obstacles have changed, but the objective remains the same.) Critics have painted Wassup Rockers as lighter than previous Clark pictures, and they’ve got a point, but it's a relative term. The movie does, after all, open with a murder, and the MPAA slapped it with an R for pervasive language and sexual content. Well, he may not come from their world, but Clark couldn't be more sympathetic towards his protagonists. If anything, he's too hard on the Caucasian characters, many of whom are fairly reprehensible--one of the film's major missteps. Of course, there are also a few obligatory shots of bare-chested boys (a Clark trademark), but his gaze is less voyeuristic than before. For the most part, Wassup Rockers is as exhilarating and, yes, life affirming as cinema can get. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
Release date: 21 November 2006
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 0634991321723 UPC: 634991321723
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