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112 MINUTES | BOSTON COMMON + FENWAY + FRESH POND + CHESTNUT HILL + SUBURBS This is a nifty idea: a coming-of-age tale set against roller dance, class struggle, and the tragically hip ’70s. It's even got splashes of romance, an Afro’d Adonis named Sweetness (Wesley Jonathan), and plenty of uproarious insult slams ("Your momma's so ugly . . . "). But director Malcolm D. Lee can't decide whether to play it for laughs or from the heart as the film veers off into waves of sophomoric humor and then packs on some deep-feeling melodrama. A quintuplet of mostly black adolescents (led by rapper Bow Wow) from Chicago’s poor South Side venture to a posh skate arena in an upscale neighborhood after their rink is shuttered: tribalism, classism, and a skate-off ensue. Given the exiguous characterizations, the performances are solid, and the roller-boogie routines — set to the infectious funk-disco anthems of the era — will have you swaying in your seat.
BY TOM MEEK
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