Delayed Reaction: Skate Kitchen

Premise: A female skateboarder in New York befriends a group of female skateboarders in New York.

 

I'm torn. There are two paths I'd like Crystal Mosselle to take with her career. On the one hand, she's proven than she's great at finding these interesting sub-communities hiding in New York like the siblings in The Wolfpack or the skate collective from Skate Kitchen. I'd love it if every couple years, there's a new documentary or dramatization featuring a new untapped group in New Yorke as a document of a unique sort of cultural anthropology. On the other hand, I love the group from the skate collective, who she originally followed for the documentary short That One Day then continued with on the HBO Series Betty. They are such a fun group to follow around, and Moselle knows exactly how to use them. I'd be sad to see this partnership end. Of course, it could be both...hands, with Moselle just trading off projects. That would be awesome. Then again, I'd also love to see what Moselle could do with something completely different and unexpected.

 

I'm getting ahead of myself though. Skate Kitchen is a movie I want to vibe with for as long as possible. The plot is pretty low stakes. It's mostly about living in and exploring this New York skateboarding community. Moselle is so great at capturing all the rich details that New York City (I don't know which borough this is, sorry) has to offer. I sincerely could've watched several hours of those characters showing up to a new location every 10 minutes. In other words, Skate Kitchen has all the charm of Betty, which was arguably the chillest TV show I've watched this year.

 

What's odd is that Betty isn't a continuation of the same story as Skate Kitchen. The actresses have different names, characters, and stories in each. It's the same idea as Lena Dunham's Tiny Furniture (movie) and Girls (show). Similar cast and idea, but they start fresh with the show. Rachelle Vinberg is the clear lead of this, whereas Betty is a true ensemble. I prefer the ensemble idea more, because they are all equally fun to hang out with. I especially like getting more focus on Nina Moran in Betty. Considering that none the core skaters in the cast are trained actresses, they are really good. It probably helps that they have a personal history and have tons of chemistry.

 

Skate Kitchen is more about the ride than the destination. The couple times it does get heavier with the plot, I was mad at it for spoiling a good time. I would never want to live this life, but I love checking in on it. So, watch Skate Kitchen as an extended pilot, then forget everything about the plot, and immediately watch Betty.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend