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Poster for Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown

They came from nothing to change everything.

2005 · 1h 47m · PG-13 Drama
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

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Overview

The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship.

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
55%
Tomatometer
Fresh

These kids can act, and they can ride those boards.

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Fresh

Lords of Dogtown stays afloat, largely because many of its actors transcend Hardwicke's heavy-handed storytelling.

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Fresh

Lords of Dogtown isn't a cop-out, but rather an ever-so-slight concession to commercialism, while Dogtown and Z-Boys was, above all else, a love song to the counterculture.

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Rotten

If watching Dogtown and Z-Boys was tantamount to witnessing history itself, watching Lords of Dogtown, which Peralta wrote, feels more like watching a stiff, meticulously choreographed reenactment.

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Fresh

It's hard to think of a movie since 1950's Sunset Boulevard that has gotten more dramatic impact out of a pool.

Mike Clark, USA Today

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