Okay, let's get this out of the way first: This is not a good movie. Not even close. There's no real depth to it, you feel like you're watching a movie instead of watching real life, and the acting is not good. But wait...
It's actually a bit entertaining. This is like Premium Rush was to fixie riders, but with less budget and the acting not nearly as good. It's tough to watch for large portions of it. The acting is actually pretty close to what skaters act like, I don't get the sense that it's bad acting in that sense, but only in the sense of it feeling like you're watching a bunch of skaters just hanging out. In that way, it's very real.
The shop owner Dave is actually portrayed well, and he seems authentic. One thing this movie showed well was the reality of a small business owner's struggle to stay above water. There are tons of shops like this, and the exchange between Dave and the customer saying they saw the same deck but for $15 cheaper and with free grip online, is something we've all seen or done ourselves at some point, but in the way it's portrayed here, you feel Dave's pain and how difficult it is for local businesses to make money. Honestly, it made me want to never ask a local business if they can match a price again. Skateshop definitely echos the ethos nice guys finish last, and that passion projects of our youth don't always pay the bills but that it's still important to value this dying breed of business.
There is tons of skating, I'd say half the film is a skate montage, but the movie does bring a lot of positive imagery and messages with it.
It's definitely a 'home sick and want to watch something where I don't have to think much' type of flick, but it's fun no matter what.
Skateboarding is not a crime :)
