Roll Bounce

The south side of Chicago, 1978. When the neighbourhood roller rink closes, X and his friends have to travel to the rich kids' rink on the north side. There they feel like outsiders and run into the best team in the place. At the same time, X cannot talk to his father after his mother's death. The film is not interested in the competition. It is interested in grief that goes unspoken: father and son live in the same house carrying the same loss separately, and the film puts its real resolution in the kitchen rather than on the rink. The form leans on the music of the period: seventies funk and soul, costumes and skating choreography. The colours and light come from disco. Malcolm D. Lee directed. He is better known for The Best Man films, and community and family sit at the centre here too. Shad Moss leads, with Chi McBride as the father and Nick Cannon and Brandon T. Jackson among the friends. Who it is for: viewers who like period-music youth films and seventies nostalgia. Who it is not for: anyone looking for an original story. The structure is taken from the classic competition film and the outcome is clear within half an hour.