Prayer of the Rollerboys

Watched November 18, 2022

 

1990

Starring: Corey Haim, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Collet, Julius Harris, Devin Clark

Directed by Rick King

This takes place in the not so distant future. After another big stock market crash, the entire US economy was decimated, losing its global power. Tons of kids were raised in chain link orphanages  presumable because their parents couldn't afford to take care of them. Griffin (Corey Haim) and his brother Miltie (Devin Clark) live in a tent on the property of Speedbagger (Julius Harris) who runs a bike and Rollerblade repair shop. 

 

Griffin works at Pinky's Pizza, delivering pizza in an armored van. After a pizza run, Griffin comes across a burning home, two people run out of, but someone is still trapped inside. Griffin rams the back of the van into the building, creating an escape hole and helps the guy get out. Griffin seems to recognize the guy, the cops show up and arrest Griffin, while the other guy flees. The burning building was a Rollerboy drug house. At the police station, Griffin's pizza job checks out and he is let go. 

 

Griffin is practicing rollerblading in a parking lot with Miltie when Gary Lee and the Rollerboys show up. Gary Lee thanks Griffin for saving Bullwinkle from the fire. Griffin doesn't want a reward in return. Gary Lee gives Miltie a cross with a dragon on it and says to ask if they need anything. 

 

Pinky is pissed that the van was destroyed and Griffin owes Pinky a lot of money to get a new one. Miltie shows up in a new minivan to replace the old one, courtesy of the Rollerboys. Griffin doesn't want to take it but Pinky does. Griffin isn't into the Rollerboys or Gary Lee even though they were friends as kids. The Rollerboys are white nationalist fascists who blame the 'other' for the woes of the US.

 

At the boardwalk, Casey (Patricia Arquette) asks Griffin for drugs, assuming he's a Rollerboy, but he isn't and doesn't have any drugs so he gives her the brush off, for now.

Miltie likes the Rollerboy lifestyle and goes to a circus carnival themed party with oil lady wrestling, champagne and mermaid girls on a carousel. Casey is there too. Griffin tries to get Miltie to leave but he's having fun. Gary Lee keeps trying to convince Griffin to beocome a Rollerboy. Griffin leaves the party, Casey follows him still asking for drugs. They make out and he takes off her underwear, he hands it to her and calls her easy. Griffin rollerblades through what looks like a sex worker alley and runs into two plainclothes police officers. After the police chase after Griffin, they take him to the police station. 

 

Detective Wakowski talks to Griffin about trying to stop the Rollerboys drug ring. Griffin doesn't want to do it. Here we learn that Casey isn't just a drug seeking Rollerboy groupie, she's an undercover cop. 

 

Miltie starts dealing drugs anyway, the Rollerboys sell a proprietary drug called Myst. Griffin tries to get Miltie to stop but then a rival Rollerboy gang does a drive by then chases Griffin and Miltie. They are cornered, Bullwinkle kills the rival gangmembers ans tells Griffin they're even for the fire rescue now. Griffin decides to works for the cops so he goes to Gary Lee's office to talk. Gary Lee is buying guns from overseas. He has a bunch of TVs on mannequins leg stands as decor in his offic. Griffin shoots one, Gary Lee is into it, and he invites Griffin to the real initiation.

 

At a shipping port, three guys are all trying to be Rollerboys, they're on rollerblades holding onto ropes attached to the back of a van. They have to grab a security badge and get out of the port alive. The first guy is shot in the back, lots of hot rollerblade action. Griffin makes it, the other guy is close but Gary Lee shoots him anyway.

 

Casey reveals to Griffin she's an undercover cop trying to help him, using them kissing as cover. She tells him he's got to work the drug kitchen so they can bust the Rollerboys with the equipment and drugs.

 

Speedbagger know how racist the Rollerboys are so he's very disappointed that Griffin has joined and Grifinf can't tell him that he's undercover. Speedbagger tells Griffin to get his new RV off of his property. Miltie takes Myst and gets in trouble with Gary Lee. No Rollerboy is supposed to get high off his own supply. Griffin goes to Casey's apartment, they make out, it looks like she's going to blow him but then she just takes his underwear and throws it in his face and says 'get to work!'

 

Bullwinkle tells on Griffin to Gary Lee that he's still friends with Speedbagger. Gary Lee says Griffin needs to be a more enthusiastic gang member. The Rollerboyss raid the rival gang, Bullwinkle again catches Griffin letting people go instead of killing them. 

Bullwinkle spies on Speedbagger. The gang has a big beat down where thy are skating around a hooded person punching them and kicking them. That person turns out to be Speedbagger. Miltie is now disillusioned with the gang, they get Speedbagger to the hospital, he's ok.

 

Griffin goes to Casey saying he's leaving town with Miltie and she can come if she wants. Her brother died as a Rollerboy so she wants to stay to stop them. They kiss and Griffin spends the night. In the morning, Bullwinkle barges in yelling at Griffin. Casey's police badge is on the table, Bullwinkle threatens to shoot them but the two cops surveilling Casey barge in. Bullwinkle grabs Casey but the second guy shoots Bullwinkle. The detective says they'll dump the body so it looks like MI6 (the rival gang?) but Griffin has to get the kitchen job now. 

 

 Gary Lee visits Griffin's house/RV and tells him Bullwinkle is dead. Gary Lee knows it was tense between Griffin and Bullwinkle but Griffin has the kitchen shift tomorrow. Griffin tells the detective to come. 

 

At the kitchen lab, Griffin paired with Bango (Mark Pellegrino) and Bango loves kitchen duty, he's having fun. Griffin learns the day of the rope is about poisoning Myst users so they can't reproduce: racial Eugenics. Miltie's only done it a couple times so I guess he'll be fine.  The cops show up, Griffin fights and hits Bango so he can't destory the operation with acid. The two undercover officers are corrupt and they're just gonna take the money but Casey shows up and shoots them plus the real detectives shows up. They leave the lab to find Gary Lee with Miltie and a bunch of Rollerboys. Shoot out then Griffin and Gary Lee, then a big roller chase with Gary Lee shooting at Griffin. Griffin then does a pole swing and gets Gary Lee's gun. He punches Gary Lee before Gary Lee can stab him. Ends with Griffin and Casey driving and making out with Miltie and Speedbagger in their RV heading to Oregon. But Gary Lee is in jail with his lawyer planning to get Griffin. Sequel set up that never happens.

Miltie is not great. Probably that's part of what made Corey Haim so special is that he was a good kid actor. I'm sorry that drugs took Corey Haim's life.  Being a child star/teen heartthrob seems brutal. Both Corey's were talents but had a hard time getting past stuff but at least Corey Feldman's is still alive.

 

I only on this rewatch realized that Gary Lee is played by Christopher Collet, who played Paul in Sleepaway Camp another favorite movie of mine from my high school years. 

 

Beautifully stupid and just my cup of tea. I also really love Corey Haim, so I've seen many stupid movies what he was in. The yellow filter over everything is a bit much. Lots of great rollerblading though! Rollerblading seems very challenging to make look dynamic on film. Turns out the screenwriter W. Peter Iliff was really on a Rollerblade kick because he also wrote the story for the made for TV movie, Blade Squad. I haven't watched it yet, but it's on my list.

 

We decided through randomness to watch rollerblade movies in November 2022. Compared to skateboard and roller skate movies there aren't as many Rollerblade movies even though it was big fad in the late '80s to the '90s, I'm looking at you jolly rancher commercial.