bkoganbing Along with Skatetown, USA, Roller Boogie is the other film that celebrates that brief era when roller disco ruled the youth culture. It came as soon as it arrived almost. People still skate, they just don't do it to disco music any more.I think that Linda Blair accepted the role of the lead here possibly because she wanted to break away from that Exorcist image. She couldn't play all her parts with a spinning head and was trying for a more wholesome image. As a leading man for Roller Boogie she took a skating champion Jim Bray.Possibly they also saw a budding teen idol in Bray. As an actor he was a great skater. But also in time he might have developed into a decent actor once his projected bubblegum popularity waned. But the film came and went and Bray left no real impression other than with his skates. The plot has the roller kids trying to save former Roller Derby champion Sean McClory's skate emporium from developers who led by Mark Goddard aren't squeamish about how they acquire the joint. Goddard is also in cahoots with Blair's father Roger Perry.Blair's mother is Beverly Garland who sees her daughter as a flute prodigy and has her earmarked for Julliard. But Blair wants to learn to skate so she can roller disco with the rest of the gang and Bray's willing to teach her.I think you can see where this one is going. If you like roller disco you have a double bill of Skatetown, USA and Roller Boogie for your fare.

TedMichaelMor Do you remember envying people who lived in California until you lived there? "Roller Boogie" recalls the reality of the place by being too much like many experiences there. Writing about this movie requires effort better spent on other topics, but innocent people might need a warning.First let me confess that I love roller-skating. My parents operated the local rink on Saturdays for a few months as community volunteers. They had essentially met skating. The skating in the film attracts me. I think I would like Venice, California. I think I would have liked it during the outdoor roller-skating fad. Further, I like the car Linda Blair drives in this film.Further, Jim Bray is a terrific skater; for a novice, he is a good actor. Linda Blair is not as bad an actor as critics claim. Here she is an attractive young woman. Mark Lester directed a superb award-winning documentary. He produced important films. He directed some good movies and wrote scripts for others.I do not object to remaking something like the old Andy Hardy movies—there is a place for such movies. Redoing the old American International movies is okay too. In many ways, this film surpasses those cult classics. At least, Jim Bray and Linda Blair are winsome. That counts. Of course, if you need plot, intentional humour, taste, wit, or other aspects of great movies, you might rate this film lower than I do. Still, though "Roller Boogie" feels like a cheap date, a cheap date could be a terrific date. "Roller Boogie" is not terrific, but cheap dates have their place. This one depends on you. I might have gone for a nine rating if I had not grown into a grumpy old man. Further, I miss living in California. I liked it.

jc1305us Another great, awful movie a la "Road House", this movie is a time capsule of crap.This movie reenacts all the cliché plot points from so many other movies: i.e. The old man with a heart of gold, the rich girl and her boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks, Acting: terrible. Writing: terrible. You have to see this movie to believe it. On a lighter note, Linda Blair and some of the other female leads are HOT!!! The absolute best scene in this entire movie is the local mobsters being pelted with fruit and running away. This movie is a nightmare that you don't wake up from, but its one of those weird psychedelic nightmares that you just have to sit through because its so surreal...Check out the costumes...God awful, especially the overweight bike cop who wears SHORT shorts. Hysterical.

artemishdc Yes, I rated this a 7 out of a 10....I only gave it a 7 because I haven't seen it since I was 7 years old......don't know if it's the 10 I used to think it was hee hee I loved Roller Boogie hee hee...I must have watched that movie a million times when I was a kid.When I was a kid I also didn't care about the plot...All I thought was beaches, skating, pretty girl, pretty boy...happy ending.I'm afraid that if I see it now I'll be supremely disappointed by my childhood innocence like I was with Saturday Night Fever...whew...I had no idea what was going on there until I saw it when I got older..again I had tunnel vision as a kid. I could only think about the dancing.If you want to see Linda Blair not controlled by the devil and have some campy fun...go for it!!!! Don't be a snob:)