In their late teens, Stacy, Jay and Tony (Robinson, Hirsch and Rasuk) are best friends in 1975 Venice Beach, aka Dogtown, resisting responsibility to instead surf and skate the days away. Then Zephyr board-builder Skip (Ledger) gets some urethane wheels, and they're suddenly able to skate up the walls of pools emptied as a result of a summer drought. Their new skills rock the sport, stealing it from the nerds and creating a very cool subculture. But now they have to deal with sudden fame and fortune.

The main problem is that this terrific story was much more powerfully told in Peralta's doc. Transforming it into a drama proves tricky, mostly because he refuses to use a specific point of view, following all three central characters' journeys, plus a few sideroads. So the plot feels both fuzzy and forced. Fortunately, Hardwicke and her Thirteen cinematographer Elliot Davis drench the film in brilliant 1970s sunshine, capturing the feeling of an endless California summer.

And the cast is superb--both the actors and the real guys who appear in witty cameos. Surprisingly, the most endearing character is Skip, entertainingly well-played by Ledger as a grown man who just wants to enjoy life. And clearly has. Well, what he can remember of it. Robinson, Hirsch and Rasuk are excellent, adding layers to the rather simplistic script, which tries to make each a one-note character: Stacy's driving sense of goodness, Jay's bad-boy ferocity, Tony's love of excess.

This focus on their personalities is strong--examining their reactions to what happens in their lives, rather than that these guys quite literally changed the world. But as a writer Peralta is a bit too subjective, especially when he paints himself as the only level-headed Z-boy. And when he starts getting preachy, we can feel his screenwriting classes kicking in. He doesn't believe it; and neither do we.

themes, language, violence, drugs

20.Jul.05