Roll Bounce (2005)
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64% of critics liked it
(88 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(55,977 ratings)
A handful of inner-city kids move up to the big time in this teen-centric musical. Xavier Smith (Bow Wow), known to his friends as X, is a teenager growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the late '70s. X and his buddies are the hotshot skaters at the Palisades Gardens, a neighborhood roller… More A handful of inner-city kids move up to the big time in this teen-centric musical. Xavier Smith (Bow Wow), known to his friends as X, is a teenager growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the late '70s. X and his buddies are the hotshot skaters at the Palisades Gardens, a neighborhood roller rink where local kids roll to the latest disco sounds, but X loses his status as king of the hill when the Palisades closes down. With no skating action close by, X and his friends head uptown to the Sweetwater Roller Rink, where they feel like country mice in the big city among the expert skate dancers and beautiful women. But skating means a lot to X -- with his widower father, Curtis (Chi McBride) going through a bad patch, skating gives him a sense of accomplishment and a belief in his own talent. So X and company keep heading uptown to Sweetwater, where they prepare to take on Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan) and his crew of the rink's best dancers for the upcoming Roller Jam Skate-Off. X befriends a young local girl named Tori (Jurnee Smolett) and finds a good reason to go uptown when he meets a pretty skater girl, Naomi (Meagan Good). Meanwhile, Tori's mother, Vivian (Kellita Smith) takes an interest in Curtis. Featuring a score of classic '70s R&B and disco, Roll Bounce was directed by Malcolm D. Lee, who enjoyed a breakthrough hit with 2002's Undercover Brother. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Malcolm D. Lee
- Written By
- Norman Vance
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
PG-13,
- In Theaters
- Sep 23, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Sometimes a film wins you over with its sheer exuberance and sweetness.
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Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
It will remind you what it was like to be a teenager during the last few days of summer. And even though the plot is a little thin, you probably won't even notice until long after the music stops.
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Ted Fry, Seattle Times
The end of the dismal summer movie season couldn't have been blessed with a more satisfying coda than the rollicking, funny, relentlessly cheery and genuinely touching spirit that makes Roll Bounce a captivating delight from start to finish.
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Susan Walker, Toronto Star
A movie made in the spirit of: what the world needs now is a bit of innocent diversion.
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Mike Clark, USA Today
If it doesn't exactly kick out the jams, it does move them around a little bit.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Bow Wow
as Xavier "X" Smith
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Chi McBride
as Curtis
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Meagan Good
as Naomi Phillips
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Wesley Jonathan
as Sweetness
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Kellita Smith
as Vivian
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Jurnee Smollett
as Tori
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Khleo Thomas
as Mixed Mike
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Nick Cannon
as Bernard
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Rick Gonzalez
as Naps
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Marcus T. Paulk
as Boo
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Brandon T. Jackson
as Junior
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Mike Epps
as Byron
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Charlie Murphy
as Victor
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Paul Wesley
as Troy
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Wayne Brady
as D.J. Johnny
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Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels
as Garden D.J. Smooth Dee
- Justin Mentell
