Wassup Rockers (2005)

Instead of adhering to the norms of their South Central neighborhood, a group of skater boys opt to bus into Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where they attract local rich girls - and plenty of... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Clark

Writers:

Larry Clark (screenplay), Larry Clark (story),

Stars:

Jonathan Velasquez, Francisco Pedrasa, Milton Velasquez

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Velasquez	...	Jonathan
Francisco Pedrasa	...	Kico
Milton Velasquez	...	Milton / Spermball
Usvaldo Panameno	...	Porky
Eddie Velasquez	...	Eddie
Luis Rojas-Salgado	...	Louie (as Luis Rojas Salgado)
Carlos Ramirez	...	Carlos
Iris Zelaya	...	Iris
Ashley Maldonado	...	Rosalia
Laura Cellner	...	Jade
Jessica Steinbaum	...	Nikki
Chris Neville	...	Beverly Hills Cop
Jeremy Scott	...	Andre
David Livingston	...	Beverly Hills Actor
Joe Myles	...	Beverly Hills Detective

Storyline

Instead of adhering to the norms of their South Central neighborhood, a group of skater boys opt to bus into Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where they attract local rich girls - and plenty of trouble with the police, jealous boyfriends, and nervous parents.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | police | bus | older woman younger man relationship | graffiti | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, sexual content and teen drinking

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

5 April 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Külvárosi rockerek

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$29,400 (USA) (23 June 2006)

Gross:

$221,415 (USA) (28 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capital Entertainment, Glass Key, Wildcard Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 111 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Silenci?: Episode #6.11 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Stop These Wars"
Written by Jonathan Velasquez & Carlos Ramirez
Performed by The Revolts

User Reviews

One of the most entertaining teen films of the past ten years.

WASSUP ROCKERS details the events that transpire over the course of twenty four hours when a group of young male punk rock Hispanic skater teenagers travel from South Central to Beverly Hills using every kind of form of transportation that they come across. They end up opening the eyes of a group of rich and spoiled young girls, getting chased by the police, getting attacked by jealous jocks, and everyone else that they come across, both gay and straight, end up all either falling in love with them or being admirers of them. A couple people end up actually dying too! This film has everything!!!!

No, but seriously, the plot of this film may sound kind of like a cross between Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Warriors, which isn't far from the truth. I'd almost call it a remake of The Warriors if I weren't such a purist. Either way though, I had so much fun with this film. Within ten minutes I ended up falling in love with all these boys and I especially loved how genuine they are about everything. They consistently remain true to each other, which is so rare in youth-related films today. They are all brave and good natured. They aren't violent, they don't do drugs, and they are charming in a weird way. I would probably not be bothered by the idea of them hanging out with my nephew. They really lend a lot of energy to the film, which helps the film stay more focused on the surroundings rather than plot, and this really isn't the kind of film that should have a plot, or at least a complicated one.

This film likely won't be everyone's cup of tea. The subject matter, relating to gang violence, punk rock, and skateboarding will not appeal to a lot of viewers. In addition to that, most will not appreciate the blatant stereotypes of all the characters surrounding this group of boys. I personally was not bothered by most of it. I felt that it somewhat helped define the characters a little bit more by allowing them to roam in an environment that wasn't reality and was somewhat simple. I did find the one scene with the Charlton Heston lookalike to be a little too tasteless, but I was too entertained and fascinated by what was going on to really be much bothered by it.

I think that this is one of Larry Clark's strongest films. It's not quite as good as BULLY, but it's not really the same kind of film either. WASSUP ROCKERS is really more of an entertainment picture. This is pretty much Larry Clark's lightest and most positive film, though when the darker situations come into play Larry Clark goes all the way with it. WASSUP ROCKERS is entertaining, moving, scary, hilarious, and bizarre. It's very fast paced, so even if you dislike the film it will be out of your system before you know it. In short, this is a great film and I applaud Larry Clark for pulling off such a fun film.