April 19, 2006
atl
So the gang got together and made a movie. It was a coming-of-age film about a foursome of African-American teens living, loving and rollerskating together down at the local rink. The ringleader would be played by a young hip-hop star, whose character would come from a broken home with a single male authority figure struggling feebly in the shadow of parental death. Said hip-hop star would be set on the course of romance with female lead who seems to float in from a diffferent world, and the narrative would build toward a climactic skate-off. Needless to say, rollerskating-jams abound on OST.
The movie was called Roll Bounce, and it was set in Seventies Chicago. And then, 200 days later later, it was called ATL, and set in Atlanta; Bow Wow had been replaced by T.I., Meagan Good by Lauren London, Chi McBride by Mykelti Williamson.
Brief verdict: ATL much better; T.I. charming; could've used more skating; what's up with mysterious Ivy League school known as "Brinton"?
Though meaning to be more charged with social substance than its predecessor, this one actually has the appeal of easy-goingness; T.I's voice and facial expressions are more like a lazy Sunday than anything Roll Bounce has on offer. O, fair realism!