This Could've been good.But it could seem like the meat in the story ended up on the cutting room floor. They should've worked a bit harder on the 80's vibe ,they're trying to pass off. When you can't decide if you're making a love story,a drama,a coming of age movie,or just plain ol party movie.Than you bound to go wrong. The acting is kind of stiff,especially the interaction scenes between the boys and the girls.A lot of the conversation seemed forced and stilted. I guess is has to do with different chemistry between the two genders.There's also a big lack of background story here.basically the only thing you see is the guys partying and the girls walking around being drunk.All having meaningless conversations,only interrupted by one or two remarks about a girl's ass,as she walks across the room. I missed them having discussions about something relevant to the 80s period.Like Miami vice or something big happening in the world or on TV.OR the latest music video by a certain band on MTV. I've seen producers stray away from stuff like that before, to avoid putting the movie in a certain time frame.But this movie needed it,quite badly.I got the feeling they mixed Dazed and confused,with There goes my baby(which is a better more serious movie. I didn't quite get the 80s vibe they tried so hard to pass off.It needed more than just the clothes and the music.It needed something to grab your attention,make you interested in the characters and their life,as you follow them

This is one of those movies that sneaks up on you and you don't even start to realize how good it is until you're halfway through it - but you have to 'get' it. People who suggest that this should have been a comedy, or who don't think it compares to a different movie, well those people just didn't 'get' it. This is not a formula story with a predictable plot; instead, it's an offbeat story that puts you right in the background of the lives of ordinary people dealing with the kinds of things you might have back in that day. I know that is how it came across to me, and why it connected with me so well.I won't go into the whole plot line but I will share two moments I really liked. One was when Richie's friend has sold the skate rink where he has worked for the last few years. Richie asks if he can close the place up one last time, and in the deserted rink he plays the same music, runs the flashing lights, talks over the PA system, and just relives countless moments he's had during his time working there. In one brief moment his head drops and you know the sadness is really hitting him. Young people are usually new at learning what loss is all about and it can be painful watching them experience it. Another scene I like, earlier in the film, is when Richie is working at the rink and sees a few young men shooting pool - and they were the ones who were indirectly or directly involved in the death of his best friend. With the 'limbo' pole in his hand he makes for them and flips out on them, venting his rage, almost killing one of them.The story is deceptively low-key but so much of real life is just that way. This is not a nostalgia comedy - not all nostalgia is necessarily light-hearted comedy - so it may not be the best movie for a lot of people who would do better with something like 'Dazed and Confused'. If in your past you knew people and situations like the ones here, you'll 'get' it and enjoy it.

I couldn't sleep tonight, I woke up at 1:30am and decided to watch a movie. I like coming age dramas and indie flicks, so I thought I'd give this a go. I was captivated from beginning to end, loved the characters and was especially impressed with Shiloh Fernandez. I've never seen him before and was pleasantly surprised how natural he was, I will be keeping an eye out for him in future movies.All the characters were well developed and fair enough it's not particularly anything new, but still a great story from a different town.Uplifting, sad, funny and real. This film is for people who 'appreciate' film. 9/10

I saw this movie (well most of it) at the SXSW Film Festival and was hoping to thoroughly enjoy it as I, too, was a teenager during the 80's. I thought the acting was very good, costumes were great and right on target, and the music and skating scenes definitely took me back. However, the editing was all over the place. There were too many plot lines and not enough threads to connect the importance of them. Without spoiling anything, there is a scene where the main female character is wearing a necklace before it has been given to her.The way females were characterized in this movie really struck me as tragic. With the exception of the main character's younger sister all of the female characters were portrayed as beautiful, clueless, only good for one thing, young women. In one line a girl is actually referred to as 'property.' I rarely leave a movie before it is finished (especially when the creators are in attendance and I'm sitting in the front row), but during the pool playing scene at Skateland I just couldn't take it any longer and left.I really feel the movie had potential, it just wasn't edited well at all. And to make matters worse the Director sent a LOT of kudos out to the editor before the movie started and quite frankly, they were undeserved.