Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20585 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-02-26
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Synopsis
In 1995, photographer Larry Clark burst onto the indie scene with the controversial KIDS, a tough, realistic look at a group of teenagers hanging around the seamier side of New York City, getting involved in sex and drugs amid the AIDS crisis. A decade later, Clark (BULLY, KEN PARK) went across the country to make WASSUP ROCKERS, about a group of Latino teenagers experimenting with sex, playing and listening to punk rock, dressing in their own style, and looking for the perfect place to skateboard. The seven teens, led by Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez), take two buses to get to Beverly Hills High, where they start boarding down difficult steps. They are excited when two white students, Jade (Laura Cellner) and Nikki (Jessica Steinbaum), invite them to their house, but they are soon on the run after being harassed by a racist cop (Chris Neville). They make it to the huge house, but they have to take off again when Jade and Nikki's rich white male friends catch them there, sending them off on a perilous journey through ritzy Beverly Hills as they try to get back to South Central--what one of them proudly calls the Ghetto. No matter how hard the kids try, they are unable to avoid violence; it is too entrenched in their dangerous world. In this gritty urban drama of class conflict, racism, and boys just trying to be boys, Clark displays how deep the ills of society still go, all set to a raging punk soundtrack featuring songs by such bands as South Central Riot Squad, the Remains, Moral Decay, and the Retaliators.

Customer Reviews

Kids 2? Not Quite
'Wassup Rockers', the latest offering from Larry Clark, consciously takes a step away from his past work of graphic wake-up calls, and instead paints a much softer, tender, and funnier picture of yet another group of skateboarding outcasts; in this case 7 Guatemalan punk rock friends from South Central Los Angeles. Starting strongly with some of Larry Clark's most perceptive direction, we are offered a warm, insiders view of these youthful, rebellious souls which are naturally captured from the authentic cast and crew. It is most unfortunate that Clark could not find enough inspiration to keep the authenticity flowing throughout, as this film devolves midway through with the unfortunate change in gears, from a completely believable and sincere synthesis of many of the director's reoccurring themes, into a unrealistic and inept build-up and climax dealing with the adventurous day these skaters have when they decide to venture into Beverly Hills. Although the naturalistic performances from the amateur actors benefit much of the emotional integrity that radiates here, the cast clearly have their setbacks and limitations as well. So in a nutshell, the film starts well, somewhat falters during the middle (even though this is when most of the action occurs), and ends on a high note because of the imagery and camerawork (not the story). 'Wassup Rockers' far from lives up to being the Hispanic 'Kids', but Larry Clark deserves credit for trying something different for a change.

Unbelievably terrible
I am a huge fan of Larry Clark - Kids, Bully and Ken Park were all brutally real and affecting. Wassup Rockers however is neither of these, it is a real mess of a film, Clark doesn't seem to know what he is doing. There's none of the controversy which surrounds his other films - not necessarily a bad thing. I like watching skateboarding - but the skateboarding scenes in Wassup are so long and so dull. The party scenes are so cringingly predictable and riddled with cliche. Larry Clark is in desperate need of finding a new teenage protege to write his scripts for him (a la Harmony Korine).

not much cop
What a let down ,after watching kids and bully ,i hoped this film would be worth watching ,how wrong could i be? The only people that could be interested would be skaters ,but they would probably laugh at it ,perhaps that is the crack,it must be a comedy ,my advice avoid .