Boredom is the loftiest running theme in Larry Clark's films, and "Wassup Rockers" (imagine asking to buy a ticket for that title) takes dullness to a new low.
Wassup Rockers (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:51
Fresh:18
Rotten:33
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: As usual with Clark's films, the fixation on kids is rather creepy, plus the plot eventually runs off the rails into camp.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for pervasive language, some violence, sexual content and teen drinking
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:2006
Box Office: $142,786
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... 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. [More]
Starring: Yunior Usualdo Panameno, Carlos Ramirez, Jonathan Velasquez, Milton Velasquez
Starring: Yunior Usualdo Panameno, Carlos Ramirez, Jonathan Velasquez, Milton Velasquez, Iris Zelaya, Ashley Maldonado, Luis Rojas Salgado, Laura Cellner, Eddie Velasquez, Jessica Steinbaum, Francisco Pedrasa
Director: Larry Clark
Director: Larry Clark
Screenwriter: Larry Clark
Producer: Larry Clark, Terry Spazek, Ramon Salgado, Henry Winterstern, Kevin Turen, Patrick Meehan
Studio: First Look
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Reviews for Wassup Rockers
The themes are set up and then completely pushed into the background in exchange for almost endless dribble that feels more like a first time attempt of a film student rather than an actual film...
A documentary about these kids could have been terrific, but Clark involves them in a clunkily scripted melodrama instead.
Clark's vision of Los Angeles, where extravagant fantasies and inner-city social issues wildly intersect.
Makes you wish Clark had quit trying to cook up adventures for his cast and made a straight documentary instead.
Even Clark's fans probably won't be surprised to hear the result is a low-key, pervy mess.
The initially realistic drama takes a turn into the truly bizarre and surreal. At that point, the film becomes a grotesque, nearly unwatchable cartoon.
It may not dig very deep, but it has a certain grubby charm, and it doesn't overplay its hand.
Tries to say something profound about these kids, while oversimplifying the world around them to the point of ridiculousness.
Steeped in urban-youth woes but gets a bounce from Clark's sense of humor and hope.
The main characters may be refreshingly cliché-free, but almost everyone they meet in Beverly Hills is a stilted cartoon.
This is an improvement in some ways, but losing the edginess also means there's nothing special about this film.
What might have been a fascinating, intimate portrait turns into something much less compelling when Clark tries to impose a sex-and-action-packed narrative on the proceedings.
Latest News for Wassup Rockers
July 07, 2006:
Wassup, Larry Clark? Director Talks Teens and Breaking Bones
Photographer and director Larry Clark chatted with Rotten Tomatoes staffer Michael Campos-Quinn about his new film, "Wassup Rockers," which opens in limited release... More...
June 22, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Click" Doesn't, Ahem, Click; "Waist" Isn't Deep Enough
This week at the movies, we've got a magical remote control ("Click") and a father who's trying to rescue his son ("Waist Deep"). Will the critics dig... More...
June 21, 2006:
Exclusive: "Wassup Rockers" Clip
We got our hands on an exclusive clip from Larry Clark's "Wassup Rockers" that shows the main characters rocking out in an impromtu performance. The movie centers on a... More...
April 25, 2006:
Photo Gallery Update: "Stick It," "Wassup Rockers," and "The Proposition"
They're not exactly blockbusters but we couldn't resist sharing the new photo galleries for "Stick It," "Wassup Rockers" and "The Proposition." More...
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