Does fame turn people into arrogant pricks, or are arrogant pricks most likely to become famous?
In tracing the life of once-famous, now-incarcerated skateboarder Gator, this documentary doesnt answer that question so much as ask it. The directors light touch, which lets the audience draw its own conclusions, is probably the films best feature. That or the garish 80s fashion parade. This documentary outlines the Southern California skate scene of the 1980s using archival videos, photos, and magazines la Dogtown and Z Boys. Back then, a kid named Gator was at least as good at skating pools as his cohorts, Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain, and Tony Hawk (all of whom are interviewed in the film). But we see that Gator had a kind of chutzpah – or star power – that set him apart. The film traces the dual arcs of Gators rise and the explosion of skateboardings popularity. From a distance of almost two decades, his teammates and colleagues remember Gator, who appears only in archival footage and as a disembodied voice. On screen, we see Gator propelled beyond the world of skateboarding in
