Roller Boogie
Disco Skating Queen Linda and Skater Jim Bray Seek Holy Grail
Lacking the brilliance of flop Xanadu, this 1979 cheesey film-on-wheels is still enormously entertaining.
Roller Boogie (1979), which stars Linda Blair and real-life world champion roller skater Jim Bray, lacks the brilliance of roller disco flop Xanadu (1980), and it’s unfortunate that Kira the Muse (Olivia Newton-John) couldn’t make a guest appearance in this film to stir things up a bit. Alas, Kira is still cavorting with the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus and won’t roller skate into Venice Beach, California until 1980.
Directed by Mark Lester, (he also directed cult-exploitation film Class of 1984), Roller Boogie opens in Venice Beach with skaters dancing and skating in the streets to the sound of disco music. Everyone is happy because the Pacific Ocean is nearby, the sun is shining and no one has a job! These roller boogie skaters live in a world outsiders rarely visit, a sacred bubble universe that exists in a parallel universe zone known only to roller boogie initiates. At night, they skate at “Jammers”, their favorite roller rink that crooks later threaten to close for shopping mall development.
Terry Barkley (Linda Blair), is a frustrated rich girl who wants to be a roller boogie skater. We’re first introduced to her as she packs her white roller skates into a bag. She’s planning yet another trip to roller boogie heaven Venice Beach. Terry lives with her ultra wealthy uptight suburban WASP parents. They call her a flute playing “Genius” and plan for her to attend the Juilliard School in New York City to which an unhappy Terry responds: “So what, I’m a musical genius! What a drag!”
While roller skating in Venice, Terry meets roller skating geek Bobby James (Jim Bray) and his roller boogie “tribe”. Bobby dreams of becoming a roller skating Olympic champion, and Terry offers to pay him five dollars to teach her to be a roller boogie skating queen. FIVE DOLLARS! Terry has millions and millions of dollars and she only offers him five dollars (a good indication of the nature of their relationship.) No matter. Bobby, pathetic fool that he is, falls in love with Terry, doesn’t accept her money, and they join forces to train for the big roller boogie skating contest. Bobby’s friends talk about him behind his back and say: “Rich chicks, gold medals, Olympics…always wants something he can’t have.”
Roller Boogie's bittersweet ending is an unexpected surprise. There’s depth and substance to this film. Not much...don’t search too hard for it. Roller Boogie is mindless fun, just like disco. But it’s also not your typical “Life is wonderful as I roller boogie my way to eternal roller boogie glory."
