It’s difficult to find a viewable extreme sports movie, let alone a good one, but Dishdogz, from director Mikey Hilb, comes damned close. It falls in the same traps that most films from the genre do, but a decent story and good acting save the day in the end.
Our hero Kevin (Marshall Allman) is one of those smarmy skate punks that you want to run over whenever you see them out jumping around on their boards. But let’s face it, if you didn’t have responsibilities and had the talent, you’d be right out there with them. I never could master the jumping part, but there is something very freeing about racing along on a skateboard, feeling the wind against your body as you careen around. But anyway, back to Kevin.
Kevin’s mom lets her deadbeat boyfriend move back in, and he has the brilliant plan of shipping Kevin off to his cousin’s orange grove to work for the summer, freeing him up to swill beer and have sex with Kevin’s mom. Can’t really argue with his plan, it’s brilliant in its simplicity.
With board in hand, Kevin buses it from New Mexico to sunny California for a fun-filled summer of picking oranges. When an opportunity arises to get a job as a dishwasher at an extreme sports summer camp, Kevin jumps at the chance. So now after work, instead of scrubbing his hands so he doesn’t smell like Goo-Gone, he can skate to his heart’s content.
But his mean old boss Tony (Luke Perry) runs a pretty tight ship, so free time is going to be at a minimum. But little by little, Tony warms up to Kevin, especially after Kevin learns that underneath his rough exterior lives a fellow skater at heart — in fact, he’s a legend in hiding.
Article comments
1 - Owen Woytowich
This movie mad Xtreme come alive more than a pop-up card from Hallmark. Soooooo stoked!
2 - Owen Woytowich
This movie made 'X-treme' really come pop out at me more than a pop-up card from Hallmark! I can't say enough about it....