DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS (2001) **** The tale of the Zephyr skate team, renegade outlaws who thought "we aren't skaters, we're from Venice," deals with no issue other than skateboarding, but it's really about issues much, much bigger. These guys created an industry that had long since been discarded, by redefining it in exactly the way that they wanted to, by refusing to respond to outside criticism with anything beyond a flip of the finger, and, generally, by just doing what they wanted to do when and where they wanted to do it. It is telling that the lead guru, in searching for a metaphor of what they were up to, settles on "urban guerillas." And today, in cities and towns across the northern hemisphere, the streets are theirs. You don't have to have a stick to get into this stuff; I don't know much about it, or care much about skateboards in general, beyond supporting "skateboarding is not a crime" petitions, but the footage of Stacy Peralta and Tony Alva is absolutely incredible. It's the kind of stuff that drove the Greek poets to write about the Olympics. The documentary is put together in a spectacular exemplification of the punk ethos. Sean Penn is the most perfect narrator when he coughs or sounds like he's having difficulty reading his lines because he thinks that they're really important, but knows that there's no way he could possibly do them justice. The genius who put this thing together is, surprisingly, or obvious if you think about it, Peralta. It couldn't be this great without the music, each selection of which is played perfectly. The clip of the big wave coming to the accompaniment of Blue Oyster Cult shredding "Godzilla" is incredible, but the most moving is Iggy and the Stooges' "Gimme Danger." Life is about how you live it, and these guys have been most properly lionized. Free Jay Adams!!!!! THIS is what Southern California was meant to be.
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