After inciting uproar and censorship debate with Ken Park, filmmaker Larry Clark returns with Wassup Rockers, an observational tale about seven Latino skaters on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles.
Adopting a loose approach to storytelling, this is Clark's most accessible film to date. It concerns a band of outsiders, Salvadorean teens who shun their hood's peer-mandated hip-hop for the Ramones - and have the lank hair and drainpipe jeans to prove it. Opening in documentary-style, the scene is set by Clark's stable of largely non-professional actors before they hotfoot it on an adventure to Beverly Hills for the day.
Balancing sheer fun, loose energy and sincere feelings, Wassup Rockers is an hilarious and enjoyable treat, even when pock-marked with tragedy.
“As Angeleno social comedy, this is what Spanglish should have been.” - Village Voice