Thrashin'!
(Warning, if you've never seen Thrashin, you should probaby stop reading this. It contains spoilers. Although, if you're reading this, it's a great chance you've already seen it. If you haven't, I implore you to go out and buy it. I love movies like this and I think you will too.)
RAD
GLEAMING THE CUBE
THRASHIN'
If you're an 80s film geek or a fan, these 3 movie titles mean something. Universally accepted as the holy trinity of 80s extreme sports movies. Whether it's the high flying action of Rad, the inherent coolness of Christian Slater in Gleaming the Cube, or the over the top fun of Thrashin', all three must be seen and owned. Sadly, Rad hasn't been released on a media format since VHS. Gleaming the Cube hasn't seen a dvd release since 2002. And until now, Thrashin' has also been out of print. But thanks to Olive Films, that problem is being rectified. Because for the first time, Thrashin' skates right onto a bluray release.
Taking place in mid-80s LA, Thrashin' tells the story of Cory Webster,(Josh Brolin), a rad skateboarder who leads an LA skate gang called the The Ramp Locals with one of the Lost Boys, parties with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and falls in love with the sister Chrissy(Pamela Gidley) of his rival Tommy Hook( Robert Rusler), leader of rival skate gang The Daggers. Facing challenge after challenge, ranging from Tommy disaproving the relationship between Chrissy and Cory and a broken arm in some weird skate/jousting fight, Cory fights back and takes on Tommy in the deadliest downhill skate battle of them all. After winning, Cory earns the respect of Tommy, ending the feud between The Daggers and Locals and hopefully leading to a long relationship between Chrissy and Cory.
This movie, in my mind, is a certifiable 80s classic, despite the hokiest sex scene you'll ever see(complete with AWFUL music that sounds like some sappy sitcom theme song). BMX/Skateboarding movies were produced during that hot period in the 80s when every teenager had high hopes that they could be the next extreme sports star(this includes my brother at the time), but very few of those movies had the charm and still have the watch-ability of Thrashin' or even Rad. The acting is a little silly but that's just part of it's charm. And my gosh, the soundtrack. A fun mixture of a lot of the 80s skate/punk scene at that time including one of my all time favorite bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a very early appearance for the band. The Bangles, Devo, Fear, and others are included on the very diverse and memorable soundtrack. And Meatloaf sings the title theme!
Sadly, it does not seem we'll get Rad anytime soon on any format, so if you'd like to experience one of these fun skateboarding movies, you're gonna have to pick up the new Olive Films release which thrashes it's way into our hearts tomorrow. This release gets a huge seal of approval from me and can't be suggested any higher. You can head over to Olive and pick it up. Hopefully, someday we can have this on the shelf next to Rad and Gleaming the Cube. And hopefully Olive will be the ones releasing them...
-Chad
