''Skatetown, U.S.A.'' is a 1979 American comedy

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

produced to capitalize on the short-lived fad of roller disco.allmovie.com,
Skatetown, USA
', retrieved September 25, 2010 Directed by William A. Levey, the film features many television stars from the 1960s and 1970s, among them Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Ron Palillo and Ruth Buzzi. Patrick Swayze's leading role as the skater "Ace" was his first movie performance. Also in the cast are

Sydney Lassick Sydney Lassick (July 23, 1922 – April 12, 2003) was an American character actor perhaps best known for his role as Charlie Cheswick in the feature film '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest''. Lassick's first name was sometimes spelled ''Sidney' ...

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

and ''Playboy'' centerfold model Dorothy Stratten.

Plot

One evening at a Los Angeles roller disco called ''Skatetown, U.S.A.,'' a rivalry between two skaters (Patrick Swayze and Greg Bradford) culminates in a contest, the winning prize for which is $1000 and a moped. After a game of chicken played on motorized

roller skates Roller skates, are shoes or bindings that fit onto shoes that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was an inline skate design, effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad ska ...

, the two rivals become friends.

Cast

* Scott Baio as Richie * Flip Wilson as Harvey Ross * Patrick Swayze as Ace Johnson * Maureen McCormick as Susan Nelson * Greg Bradford as Stan Nelson * Ron Palillo as Frankey * Judy Landers as Teri * Ruth Buzzi as Elvira * Dorothy Stratten as customer at snack bar (girl who orders pizza) * Joe E. Ross as rent-a-cop * Dave Mason as himself *

as Jimmy * Katherine Kelly Lang as Allison * David Landsberg as Irwin *

as Murray * Murray Langston as the drunk * Bill Kirchenbauer as Skatetown doctor * Denny Johnston as the wizard (club DJ) * Vic Dunlop as Ripple * Len Bari as Alphonse * April Allen as Charlene (Ace's girlfriend and skating partner, uncredited)

Production notes

The setting is based on '' Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace'', a disco roller rink which had opened in West Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard earlier in 1979 and was fleetingly a very popular celebrity hangout. The film includes many short, broadly comedic and

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

subplots (such as a gag having to do with itching powder) set between long roller skating sequences and musical performances. Filming was done mostly at the Hollywood Palladium, built in 1940. Its sprawling blond

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

dance floor,

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

s and soap bubbles blown by a machine from the '' Lawrence Welk Show'' can be seen in sundry scenes. Some exteriors were shot on

Santa Monica Pier The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing. Attractions Pacific Park Th ...

and at nearby Venice Beach. Patrick Swayze, who had roller skated competitively as a teenager and was a trained dancer, did his own skating and stunts in the film. April Allen, Swayze's uncredited roller-skating partner in the movie, had won the world championship in women's free skating seven years earlier.Swayze, Patrick and Niemi, Lisa,
The Time of My Life
', Simon and Schuster, 2009, pp 74–75, , retrieved October 1, 2010susan-a-miller.com,

', retrieved October 2, 2010 Twenty-nine years after filming, Maureen McCormick recalled, "Like a disco, there was a lot of cocaine being done on the set. Many people were open about it." McCormick wrote that she fell back into severe cocaine addiction during production, often showing up late for shooting or not coming to work at all.McCormick, Maureen, ''Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice'', William Morrow, pp 123–124. October 14, 2008, Scott Baio later recalled,

I have blocked that movie from my memory, it was so bad... That was that whole time where ''Xanadu'' and '' Roller Boogie'' and all that crap was coming out. That was one of those things where they sent me the script and I said 'no,' but they just kept calling and offering more money! I mean, they offered me a lot of money. And finally I said, 'Well, hell. What is it? Two weeks' work? Whatever. Okay. Fine.' And it was… You know, sometimes money isn’t everything. aughs.It was just bad. I mean, it was bad shooting it. I’m trying to think of any real stories that I have, but it was just insanity. When was that? ’79? It was just a guy making a film who didn’t know how to make a film. And I don’t even know what the story was! ''Skatetown, U.S.A.''? That was crapola.Will Harris, "Scott Baio talks Chachi, Bob Loblaw, and Howard Cosell", ''AV Club'' 3 April 2014
accessed 7 April 2014

Soundtrack

The film features almost non-stop synchronized music, much by popular disco and pop artists from the mid and late 1970s. Most of this music is diegetic, in that it is shown within the plot as being played either through records spun by the roller disco's "wizard" DJ or performed on the club's stage and hence, is heard by both the characters and the movie's audience. Dave Mason is featured as a performer in the roller disco, playing himself. Mason sings the movie's disco-tinged theme song "Skatetown" (written by Mason and Brenda Cooper) over the opening credits. He is also shown performing "I Fell in Love" along with a cover of his own 1968 Traffic hit "

Feelin' Alright Feeling Alright may refer to: *"Feelin' Alright?", a 1968 song by Traffic, made famous by a 1969 version by Joe Cocker retitled "Feeling Alright"; also recorded by many other artists * "Feelin' Alright" (Len song), 1999 song by Canadian alternative ...

." Among other songs on the soundtrack are the Patrick Hernandez dance hit " Born to Be Alive," " Boogie Wonderland" ( Earth, Wind & Fire and The Emotions), " Shake Your Body" ( The Jacksons), "

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

" ( Heatwave), " Baby Hold On" ( Eddie Money), " Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" (

McFadden & Whitehead McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff re ...

), " I Want You to Want Me" ( Cheap Trick), "Roller Girl" ( John Sebastian), "Perfect Dancer" ( Marilyn McCoo and

Billy Davis Jr. Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", " Your Love", ...

Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)" is a song written by Emanuel LeBlanc, Herb Lane, Keith Crier and Paul Service and performed by American band GQ, from their 1979 debut studio album ''Disco Nights''. The song was produced by Larkin Arnold, Beau Ray an ...

by GQ, a cover of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' " Under My Thumb" by the Hounds, and "Skatetown U.S.A." ( John Beal) during the End Credits. A soundtrack album was released in 1979 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Side A: #"Skatetown" – Dave Mason (3:11) #" Boogie Wonderland" – Earth, Wind & Fire (4:49) #" Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" – The Jacksons (3:45) #"

" – Heatwave (3:38) #" Born to Be Alive" – Patrick Hernandez (3:23) Side B: #"Roller Girl" – John Sebastian (3:10) #"Perfect Dancer" – Marilyn McCoo &

(6:28) #"I Fell in Love" – Dave Mason (2:21) #" Under My Thumb" – Hounds (4:17) #"

" – Dave Mason (4:30)

Reception

Following a widely publicized premiere party at ''Flipper's'' roller disco in West Hollywood on October 1, 1979 and billed as the ''Rock and Roller Disco Movie of the Year'', by the time of its release roller disco was a fast-waning fad and the popularity of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music had peaked ( Disco Demolition Night had already happened two and a half months earlier). Aside from some praise for Swayze's skating and screen presence the movie was neither a critical nor a box office success. However, by the early 21st century a writer for oddculture.com called the film "a true cult item and one of the best 70s time capsules around. ..There’s just something magical about a slutty

Marsha Marsha is a variant spelling of Marcia. Notable people with the name include: *Marsha Ambrosius (born 1977), former member of the English band duo Floetry *Marsha Arzberger (born 1937), Democratic politician *Marsha Barbour, first lady of the U. ...

iceating drugged pizza with a bearded Horshack."oddculture.com,
Roller Disco Cinema: Skatetown, U.S.A.
'', retrieved September 28, 2010 It was later shown on cable television from time to time. There have been no known licensed VHS or DVD releases. This may be owing to home video licensing woes over the soundtrack's many major label recordings. 35mm and

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

full frame prints of the movie (which was shot in 35mm and cropped to widescreen for theatrical release) have been exhibited at film revivals and low quality video copies made from a much faded full frame 16mm print have been in commercial circulation.brutallo.com,
Cult films!
'', retrieved September 28, 2010 On March 6, 2019, a 35mm print was screened for the first time in years at Los Angeles' New Beverly Cinema on a double bill with another 1979 "skatesploitation" film, '' Roller Boogie''.

Home media

It was announced on th
Home Theater Forum
site an
Blu-ray.com
site that ''Skatetown USA'' would be released by Sony on to high definition Blu-ray on September 24, 2019. It was the first home media release of ''Skatetown USA'' as it had never been officially released on VHS, LaserDisc or DVD. Skatetown USA was released on high-definition Blu-ray on September 24, 2019 as previously reported. The Blu-ray itself was a bare bones release with only the movie itself included on the disc. No extras were included and no menu system was provided on the disc.

References

External links

* * * * *
Roller Disco Cinema: Skatetown, U.S.A.
' a
oddculture.com
*

Go Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belinda ...

blog page abou
Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace
roller rink in West Hollywood {{DEFAULTSORT:Skatetown, U.S.A. 1979 films Columbia Pictures films American comedy films Roller skating films 1970s English-language films Films scored by Miles Goodman Disco films Films shot in Los Angeles 1970s American films