STOKED: THE RISE AND FALL OF GATOR (2002)

Cast

Plot

This sad story follows the prodigiously talented Mark ‘Gator' Rogowski, darling of the 1980's American skating scene, as he treads the depressingly familiar path from the precocious success story towards a self-destructive climax. Marketed to fans of films like ‘Dogtown and Z Boys', ‘Stoked' is a much darker affair. Focusing on the egocentricity of its star, his manipulation by corporate hucksters and his desperate attempts to regain his status in the skating world, the film has an unpleasant taste of tragedy which jars with the soundtrack heavy, MTV aesthetic the filmmakers use. On one level, it's about the turbulent mix of kids with wealth and stardom (Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero and Jason Jesse are on hand to give their two cents); on another, it's about the instability that early success breeds in people, leading, in Gator's case, to violent insanity and prison. Well worth watching, but don't think you're getting a Sunshine Skating montage movie…