Wassup Rockers (2005)

37% of critics liked it
(52 reviews)
62% of users liked it
(8,475 ratings)

Photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark offers another look at the inner workings of urban youth culture in this comedy drama. Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez) is a teenaged El Salvadorian refugee living in a primarily Mexican-American and African-American neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles.… More Photographer and filmmaker Larry Clark offers another look at the inner workings of urban youth culture in this comedy drama. Jonathan (Jonathan Velasquez) is a teenaged El Salvadorian refugee living in a primarily Mexican-American and African-American neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles. Jonathan and a handful of fellow Salvadorian émigrés who are his best friends stand out like sore thumbs on the block, due less to their national origin than because they've rejected the hip-hop music and fashion around them in favor of old-school punk, as favored by the Ramones and latter-day Latino bands such as Suicidal Tendencies. Jonathan and his pals Kiko (Francisco Pedrasa), Eddie (Eddie Velasquez), Porky (Usvaldo Panameno), and Spermball (Milton Velasquez) have a group of their own, and Jonathan, a sweet but streetwise kid who has a way with the girls, is the lead singer. Like all good punk rockers, Jonathan and his bandmates are seriously into skateboarding, and one day they hop several busses and make a pilgrimage to a legendary skate spot in Beverly Hills. If the kids felt like outsiders in South Central, they soon discover they're unwelcome outcasts in the moneyed L.A. suburbs; before long they're on the run from cops as well as Anglo skaters, and even Jonathan's chance assignation with a neighborhood sexpot leads to no small share of drama. Wassup Rockers received its world premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Larry Clark, Bigga
Written By: Larry Clark
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 23, 2006 Limited
On DVD: Nov 21, 2006
Studio: First Look Pictures

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Makes you wish Clark had quit trying to cook up adventures for his cast and made a straight documentary instead.
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
Tries to say something profound about these kids, while oversimplifying the world around them to the point of ridiculousness.
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
Steeped in urban-youth woes but gets a bounce from Clark's sense of humor and hope.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
The main characters may be refreshingly cliché-free, but almost everyone they meet in Beverly Hills is a stilted cartoon.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
What might have been a fascinating, intimate portrait turns into something much less compelling when Clark tries to impose a sex-and-action-packed narrative on the proceedings.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
The sexy, scruffy, neo-Warriors pageantry of ghetto teen hunger would have been a lot more vital if Clark didn't have such a class-war chip on his shoulder.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Boredom is the loftiest running theme in Larry Clark's films, and "Wassup Rockers" (imagine asking to buy a ticket for that title) takes dullness to a new low.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Film Threat
The themes are set up and then completely pushed into the background in exchange for almost endless dribble that feels more like a first time attempt of a film student rather than an actual film...
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It was hard to keep awake during all the tedium.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Go home Larry Clark.
Todd Jorgenson, Denton Record Chronicle (TX)
...a sharply observed look at juvenile rebellion
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
A documentary about these kids could have been terrific, but Clark involves them in a clunkily scripted melodrama instead.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Clark's vision of Los Angeles, where extravagant fantasies and inner-city social issues wildly intersect.
Mike Russell, Oregonian
Even Clark's fans probably won't be surprised to hear the result is a low-key, pervy mess.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
The initially realistic drama takes a turn into the truly bizarre and surreal. At that point, the film becomes a grotesque, nearly unwatchable cartoon.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
It may not dig very deep, but it has a certain grubby charm, and it doesn't overplay its hand.

Read all 16 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Ed Fucking H

Pretty decent film from Larry Clark. Not as exploitative as many of his other films, this still deals with the same themes of youth and loss of innocence and centers around a group of young skate kids. The film still has a lot of awkward and uncomfrtable sex scenes, here they are a… More
Pretty decent film from Larry Clark. Not as exploitative as many of his other films, this still deals with the same themes of youth and loss of innocence and centers around a group of young skate kids. The film still has a lot of awkward and uncomfrtable sex scenes, here they are a lot less graphic than in movies like Kids, Bully or (especially) Ken Park. Infact this time around all close ups at teenage genetalia are above the pants which is quite a relief in a lot of ways, even if the film doesn't exactly pack the same punch as his earlier work. Also it is clear here that this is Larry Clarks show. Harmony Korine didn't write this like he did Kids and Ken Park and that odd almost gritty surrealism of Kids (expecially) isn't presnt here anymore. Instead this goes for more of a verite, documentary type style. Also features a pretty decent skate punk soundtrack. Not as good as I had hoped, but not bad at all. That being said Clarks films still aren't going to be for everyone, so use your better judgement. If you've seen any of his other films and didn't like them you probably won't like this one either.
Haley A

My friend, Mike, is in this movie!!! I love it!
Jason R

Gritty, and Dark Humored. Wassup Rockers is a great film, about a group of kids from South Central, who take a spur of the moment trip to Beverly Hills and embark on an twisted and oddly humorous journey that ultimately makes them realize that the only thing that matters is what they… More
Gritty, and Dark Humored. Wassup Rockers is a great film, about a group of kids from South Central, who take a spur of the moment trip to Beverly Hills and embark on an twisted and oddly humorous journey that ultimately makes them realize that the only thing that matters is what they think.