I saw this at Graumans Chinese on Hollywood Blvd when it came out. Because a friend wanted to go. Caught it again the other night and was surprised as I could remember nothing about it from the first time, it's that bad.Linda Blair shows zero acting skill, which is a surprise as she had a good number of credentials behind her. And never ever wear ankle straps when you're big legged like that, Linda. Even EYE know that.With the exception of Cher singing "Hell ON Wheels", the soundtrack is dreary Z grade disco schlock. Embarrassing. As is the skating. It's like disco dancing in slow motion, such is boogying in roller skates.The comedy bits are contrived and labored. The plot points are borrowed from so many movies from the silents to the modern era: Evil developer plans to destroy roller rink to make big bucks on a high rise. Kids save the day. The same plot was used in "Six Pack Annie" with a more risqué solution to "saving the day".Best scene was the always professional Beverly Garland as Linda Blair's Mother, sitting on the stairs stressing out and pulling pill bottles out of her purse: diuretic, diet pills, quaaludes just to find her valium. The only laugh in the entire picture.The only positives:seeing Venice Beach in the raw, 1979 style and the 70s fashion drek. There's plenty of it as much of the action takes place on location on the beach, but that's hardly enough to hold one's interest given the wretched soundtrack, strained attempts at comedy and leaden skating scenes. I love bad movies as much as anyone, but this doesn't even reach the level of being a bad movie entertainment. It's just irritating.

Roller Boogie (1979) * 1/2 (out of 4)A rich girl (Linda Blair) who is ignored by her parents finds a skating partner with a poor boy (Jim Bray). The two strike up a relationship but soon everything they know is about to be ripped from them when their beloved skating rink is about to close when mobsters force its owner to sell.ROLLER BOOGIE pretty much ended Linda Blair's career and it has become somewhat of a cult film for fans who love bad movies. It's certainly a pretty bad movie but at the same time I can see why some might be attracted to it and it's cult appear really isn't too shocking. With that said, I'm sure what we got here could have worked had the screenplay been re-done and the direction had been a little bit better. However, no one is going to be screaming for a remake of this so we can only judge what we've got here.I'm not going to lie but I was entertained for about the first twenty-five minutes or so because the movie is stupid but it's just got some good charm going for it. It's certainly a throwback to those BEACH PARTY movies were a group of misunderstood teens just go to a hang out spot and have fun while their parents work and throw a fit about them. However, charm eventually runs out as the film keeps moving on and gets downright boring and reaches a stupidity level that it can't overcome. The entire subplot with the mobsters is downright silly and the relationship between the two teens never makes that much sense and is so forced that it's hard to take it serious.Another problem is that the soundtrack contains some pretty laughable songs and there's no question that the direction is lackluster to say the least. I will say that both Blair and Bray are charming in their own ways and it's fun seeing 50s cult star Beverly Garland. Still, ROLLER BOOGIE is a pretty silly film that doesn't have too much going for it.

Do you remember envying people who lived in California until you lived there? "Roller Boogie" recalls the reality of the place by being too much like many experiences there. Writing about this movie requires effort better spent on other topics, but innocent people might need a warning.First let me confess that I love roller-skating. My parents operated the local rink on Saturdays for a few months as community volunteers. They had essentially met skating. The skating in the film attracts me. I think I would like Venice, California. I think I would have liked it during the outdoor roller-skating fad. Further, I like the car Linda Blair drives in this film.Further, Jim Bray is a terrific skater; for a novice, he is a good actor. Linda Blair is not as bad an actor as critics claim. Here she is an attractive young woman. Mark Lester directed a superb award-winning documentary. He produced important films. He directed some good movies and wrote scripts for others.I do not object to remaking something like the old Andy Hardy movies—there is a place for such movies. Redoing the old American International movies is okay too. In many ways, this film surpasses those cult classics. At least, Jim Bray and Linda Blair are winsome. That counts. Of course, if you need plot, intentional humour, taste, wit, or other aspects of great movies, you might rate this film lower than I do. Still, though "Roller Boogie" feels like a cheap date, a cheap date could be a terrific date. "Roller Boogie" is not terrific, but cheap dates have their place. This one depends on you. I might have gone for a nine rating if I had not grown into a grumpy old man. Further, I miss living in California. I liked it.

This film became an icon for me from a very young age. I was just nearly five when this movie came out so I didn't get to see it until a few years later when Channel 4 showed it as a retro late night film. I was an avid skater. I longed for a local roller rink near me, but there was Nothing, only Ice rinks. I took ice skating lessons to help alleviate some of the frustration and then went back and applied some of the knowledge to my skating. Roller Boogie was brilliant for me, because it was cheesy , but most of all one of the very rare films that focused on roller skating - a tough subject to inject into a movie! Terry's car in the movie is beautiful too and those white roller boots! I remember finally getting a pair of all white-leather roller boots, hard to come by over here, but they were the best present ever - I still have them and they still fit and I hope to be wearing them when I teach my niece how to skate too! Roller Boogie as a movie cannot be taken too seriously! It has a feel good factor about it, no obscenities, the music is so retro ( to us nowadays anyway) and I love the skate line at the beginning of the movie - I just wished we had skate lanes like that in the UK! This is a film for those who like skating - don't bother to watch if you are a football fan - you wont get it - its simple teenage, roller skating , good vs bad and I have spent years trying to find a copy to replace my fuzzy VHS-taped from TV-copy. Mine came today, I've watched it, and I will probably watch it in the future when I'm snuggled up on the sofa, full of cold or maybe a hangover and just watch it - it is my feel good movie and one that few will ever enjoy as much as me! xx