Deck Dogz (2005) directed by Steve Pasvolsky – A Film Review

There has been in recent years a rise in the acceptability and even the enjoyment of bad movies. The term “so bad it’s good” is not a new one and has been used since at least the nineteen nighties but the demand for such films has certainly increased over the past decade. Ironic enjoyment of entertainment has seen a steady rise in recent years as films such as The Room (2003) and Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010) have come to prominent attention. In fact, it was through a similar recommendation that I came across this strangely fantastical Australian skateboarding / coming of age movie.

Having never heard of it before I had no idea what to expect. After doing some research I discovered that the writer/director had in fact previously been nominated for an academy award for an earlier short film he produced – so how bad could it really be?

Well the film starts with three teenage skater boys who live in Sydney. The three of them have a plan to go to a skate competition so that one of them (Spasm) can show off his skills in an attempt to get sponsored by the special guest judge Tony Hawk. On their journey to the competition they get expelled from school, run away from drug dealers and meet a few girls along the way. Nothing out of the ordinary so far right, just an average coming of age story so far – that is, if you read the plot anyway.

You see what separates this from other coming of age movies is the fact that none of this comes across as believable. The film is presented in such a bizarre fantasist way that it ends up coming across as wish fulfillment of the fantasies of the director. Nothing makes sense. The attempts at characters are caricatures from the one-dimensional police officers, to the authoritarian teachers or even the love interest that is only there to be stared at and have a short conversation with before the protagonists turn in the competition.

The problem is that the kids don’t have any personalities outside of their stereotypes. Blue (the Asian guy) talks and acts like he’s an African American inner city kid. The protagonist Spasm is the shy but secretly talented every day one and his other friend Poker is an orphan with a drug addict brother. There is really nothing more to them outside of these personality traits.

Acting over all in the film isn’t to bad considering the script. The cinematography also isn’t that bad but the soundtrack is pretty terrible. Animated sequences are also incorporated into certain points in the film but it doesn’t really fit and is quite off putting when it appears.

At the end of the day, the film isn’t really anything special. It isn’t particularly funny in it’s ineptness and is not really sporadic enough in its random moments of bizarre humor to recommend as a “so bad it’s good” movie. You can tell that the filmmakers really set out to make a fantasy fulfillment skateboarder film that reminded them of their younger years and, in a way, they did that. But in honesty they didn’t achieve much more than this. It’s a decent flick for what it is – it’s not great but not terrible. It has its moments but there really isn’t much more to recommend it.