Skate Kitchen (2018) User Reviews (29)

Not a Film That I Would Expect to Like, Yet I Did

[larrys3 · 7/10 · 1 December 2018]

Successfully using non-professional actors at the time (with the exceptions of Elizabeth Rodriguez and Jaden Smith) this quasi-documentary centers on the NYC female skateboarding collective known as Skate Kitchen. It falls short at times, but overall I found it another fascinating film from director Crystal Moselle (The Wolfpack).

Although I'm way out of the intended demographic of the movie, I still was quite engaged and interested in the characters of the Skate Kitchen. With the exception of the lead here Camille (Rachelle Vinberg), we really don't find out a lot about the backgrounds or history of these teens. Thus, the movie is more about the portrayal of female friendship and bonding at this age, with the, at times, inevitable crossing paths with some male skateboarders.

Not a film that I would expect to like, yet I was taken in by the intimate portrayal of these teens, while trying not to judge their futures.

Valid as Heck

[heckbrain · 7/10 · 30 August 2018]

2018 is turning out to be a great year for skateboarding films. Bing Liu's "Minding the Gap" was an unrelentingly honest take on the violent family situations that often surround young skateboarders (everyone should see it!), Jonah Hill's directorial debut "Mid90's" looks like it'll be kickass, and now we have Crystal Moselle's "Skate Kitchen", which is an energetic and funny story about a group of real-life skateboarding crew of girls in NYC. This film felt like a semi-documentary, as all of the girls in the film appear to be playing themselves, recreating moments that have been posted on their active social media accounts. Living in NYC myself, it was refreshing to see a film that didn't use the typical aerial establishing shot of the city every time the scene changed. Everything related to the setting felt grounded rather than self-indulgent, as if the director was set on creating a mood that felt like a valid New York experience. Riding the subway, dealing with random catcallers, and dodging the incessant traffic of the streets, it all feels authentic. However, while the mood and visuals of the film remain consistently great, the story beats are unfortunately not as strong. The two big emotional conflicts in the film are essentially solved off-screen, and it feels like a missed opportunity to flesh out the awesome theme of positive relationships between women. It could be said that the director was making a point about how the struggles of our youth are often blown out of proportion and easily solved, but in practice it sometimes messed with the flow of the movie, at least for me. Basically, it was somewhat distracting to have the emotional plotline simmering in the background of a movie that was otherwise wildly fun, only for it to be solved with minimal effort. However, where the drama aspect of the movie falls short, that actual friendship and chemistry between the girls of the movie is so on point, it's basically worth the price of admission. The skate crew jokes around about things that are exclusive to women, has fun messing around in skate parks, and overall are just entertaining to be around. "Skate Kitchen" was a fun ride that felt progressive as a non-exploitative celebration of female friendships, and I wish there were more films like it.

Also Jaden Smith is in this movie and acts exactly how you'd expect him to act. I can't stress how fun/funny this movie is. If you can deal with a lack of dramatic payoff and you like to have fun, go see this movie.

Skate Kitchen cooks up an interesting and different genre of filmmaking

[silverturquoise · 8/10 · 8 January 2019]

I watched this little gem of a film recently with my teenage daughter, and we were pleasantly surprised and intrigued by the style of this film. It's got a documentary feel to it that is very natural and freewheeling. The freedom of the kids that comprise Skate Kitchen gave me nostalgia going back 40 years to the summers I spent with my teenage tribe roaming free and having fun together. A beautiful thing. The storyline of Camille who feels so alone until she reaches out and connects with her tribe of female skaters is so relatable - it's a great coming of age theme and a great feminist theme as well. Besides this layer of finding your tribe, the film also explores the whole culture of urban skateboarding - something I knew nothing about and really enjoyed immersing myself in during the film. The other layer of the storyline that I thought was well done was Camille's journey of shifting custody among her parents to try to get what she needed at different stages of her childhood and adolescence - it was heartbreaking and gave insight into her character.

After watching the film, I was very curious how it was made, and I think it's really interesting that Skate Kitchen collaborated on the script and formed part of the ensemble for the film. My daughter thought so much of the film, especially the dialogue, felt very natural/real. I think the director and the cast did a great job with this film. It's a big risk to put your real life and real story on the screen and dedicate so much time scripting and telling it in a novel way.

Slice of summer life in Manhattan, girl skateboarder group who call themselves 'Skate Kitchen.'

[TxMike · 20 December 2018]

My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library. It is somewhere between documentary and drama, all the 'actors' are girls who are members of the real Skate Kitchen group of skateboarders in New York City. It fairly accurately represents their real lives but the story itself is fictional.

The female filmmaker encountered two of them, with their skateboards, on the G train. Interested, she introduced herself and asked "are there more of you?" And that was the genesis of this movie. It takes place during one summer.

It is really a slice of life focusing more on one character living on Long Island, Camille, who just turned 18 and had some freedom to break away from her single mom's restrictions. She looks up a skate meeting event in Lower Manhattan, goes over to see what was happening, and gradually became friends with the others. There are the usual difficulties, including ridicule from the boys, but the girls bond.

I realize the movie contains exactly what the filmmaker intended, but I found myself wanting more. What kind of future do these young girls, and their young boy counterparts , have after high school? Will they be content with working at low-paying jobs to barely make ends meet while they spend most of their spare time skateboarding and watching their videos? What prospects do they have to climb a bit and pursue a more meaningful vocation? Or is skateboarding meaningful enough for them?

I can identify with all this because my own son was one of these skateboarding teens. Then he went on to a job as a bicycle messenger. By the time he got to be 25 he realized he didn't want to do that all his adult life so went to college and converted that into a good career. I will continue to wonder what the girls of Skate Kitchen will go on to.

I have not been able to find an explanation of their name, Skate Kitchen, perhaps it was inspired by the Manhattan area known as Hell's Kitchen.

It's Just A Good Teen Story & That's Enough

[LouieInLove · 7/10 · 21 October 2018]

There is no message or lecture in this film. It's just a good teen female story & that's enough.

I've seen several attempts at teen-realism movies in the past few years which fall flat on their... because of a heavy PC lecture element which really turns folk off. Thankfully Skate Kitchen does not do that & that is one of the reasons for its success - it's just a good story.

'Teen-realism' is obviously tongue-in-cheek because no movie is ever realistic. But I like the world created by the writer/director here. It's harnessed a fairytale vibe which is no bad thing in a story of about young women. It allows the beauty/femininity of the characters to come through which allows the audience to empathise.

This un-PC man liked it.

It's easy to get lost in its world thanks to a palpable atmosphere and a tangible chemistry between its cast.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 7/10 · 30 September 2018]

'Skate Kitchen (2018)' can be slow and it tends to meander but there's almost constantly a palpable sense of chemistry between its core players, the eponymous 'Skate Kitchen' (who each essentially play fictionalised versions of themselves). There's also a tangible, quite inviting atmosphere that perforates pretty much every scene, from the subtle and harmonious moments to the brash and loud ones. The flick falls into the category of film where the plot essentially comes second to the characters, as we're pretty much just put in the same space as them and allowed to experience what they do and how they feel when they're at they're most vulnerable. This works wonders purely because it all feels markedly 'real', not to mention suitably inclusive. This is helped by the fact that everyone except Jaden Smith does their own skating and that it's all suitably impressive, to boot. Everything just feels somewhat relaxed and it's easy to get drawn into the world. However, the narrative does wrap itself up pretty quickly and conventionally in a way that doesn't feel all that natural to what was previously established. There is also some unfortunate glamorisation of drug use. The experience isn't exactly riveting, either, even if it's usually engaging and generally entertaining. 7/10

The skatepark version of Lady Bird

[DJKwa · 9/10 · 16 July 2018]

//Revelation Film Festival Review//

Watching Skate Kitchen is like reconnecting with a group of friends you haven't seen for ages but upon meeting up its like not even a day has passed. It's a breezy, relentlessly entertaining coming of age story that's a delight to watch.

Set amongst the New York subculture, the story focuses on Camille (newcomer Rachelle Vinberg), an 18 year-old Long Island teen who runs away from home to join a female skateboarding posse called Skate Kitchen. Connecting with the group as a kindred spirit, Camille struggles to reconcile her strained relationship with her mother with her newfound sense of belonging. Much like this year's best picture nominee Lady Bird, Skate Kitchen will prove instantly relatable to anyone who struggled to fit in during their formative years.

Just a skate video with some dialogue

[sandraberfe · 6/10 · 28 August 2019]

I mean I enjoyed it because of the skate and everything but there's no really a story, conflicts come out of nowhere. Dialogue is not important but like the montages Can tell you everything

A captured experience of female friendship

[gabyjcarr · 9/10 · 22 November 2018]

This film captured a nostalgia of close female friendships that some are lucky to experience. It was more of a captured experience than a film focused on a narrative arc. Would recommend.

its called KIDS 2

[djrobe · 7/10 · 23 November 2018]

Watch KIDS first then this.....I can't stand Jaden Smith on social media but he's kinda a good actor

Craftily edited tale of female NYC skateboarders features a ho-hum plot

[Turfseer · 5/10 · 12 December 2018]

Director Crystal Moselle discovered a group of female skateboarders in the NYC East Village and along with two co-writers fashioned a fictional tale loosely based on the personalities of this odd sports collective. It's an ethnically diverse group headed by co-founder Rachelle Vinberg who plays Camille, a shy interloper who lives with her single mom out on Long Island (the mom is played by Elizabeth Rodriguez, one of the few professional actors here).

A good number of critics questioned why Moselle didn't film this as a documentary, much like her earlier effort in 2015, The Wolfpack. Instead, she had the skaters improvise scenes and develop a story. While the visuals here are nicely done, as it's not that easy putting together such a large canvas of skaters in motion, the plot unfortunately doesn't measure up to the acrobatic feats displayed on screen.

The plot features the usual mother-daughter imbroglio where Camille is thrown out of her mother's home due to her rebellious ways. She joins the skate collective led by a tough lesbian Kurt (Nina Moran) and the more easy-going Janay (Ardelia Lovelace), who along with her supportive father, take Camille in for a short while.

Eventually Camille starts hanging out with the skateboarding guys including Devon (former boyfriend of Janay) and played by Jaden Smith (celebrity actor Will Smith's son). The girls look poorly on Camille's decision to hang with the boys and Janay feels particularly slighted as a result of Camille's new relationship with Devon (while it's platonic, Janay doesn't believe it's as simple as that).

You can probably guess what happens. Camille is banished from the group and eventually returns to live with her mother. There is nothing extraordinarily different or original here in terms of the narrative, and much of the dialogue sounds improvised. If you have an interest in skateboarding then you'll probably enjoy this film. For me, all that skateboarding became quite tedious. Moselle is a talented editor and knows how to put a film together. Better next time however, is to seek out an established screenwriter who has unearthed some subject matter that is a bit more compelling.

Extremely VALID

[uluvmyafro · 9/10 · 7 November 2020]

Although this film reminds me greatly of the movie "Mid 90's" and The Sandlot, it still has a great story & concept. I can actually relate to this film as a previous skater (even though I'm a guy) because at the end of the day friendship is a very important aspect in the skating community. Many issues/ obstacles may arise, but as a skateboarder it's important for us to overcome it and grow. The main girl in this film did quite well as far as acting wise in my opinion. I DO feel like Jaden could work more on his acting but he's still at that learning phase. The cinematography and color Grading is dope overall! I could relate to both main girl & Jaden because I used to skate hardcore back in the day & take pictures & videos. This film reminds me of my ex who also skates in the NY scene with her girl friends and lives life to the fullest. Now this film isn't for everyone.. I feel like you have to be open minded to skateboarding as well as what today's youth indulges in. Everything pretty much shown in this movie is quite accurate of how the Ny scene (even Houston, TX where I'm from) can get down in the underground. Also too even though the film is a "taboo cult movie", this reminds me of KIDS from the early 90's but ofc a more cleaner/female version of it lol.

Should have been a documentary instead

[KaZenPhi · 4/10 · 12 April 2020]

It's great someone shines a bigger spotlight on female skateboarders. I loved skateboarding since my early childhood but even as a guy the dominance of jocks in the sport and the culture is very unappealing and disheartening.

That being said if you're a girl or a woman who either already skates or is interested in the sport, skip skate kitchen, go straight to instagram or YouTube, check out social media and contest footage, there are many amazing female skaters out there, and they are getting better and younger every year. Many of the most creative and talented ones right now are barely in their teens. It's inspiring and it's going to get more interesting every year from here on.

Now to Skate kitchen which unfortunately was a big disappointment to me.

First, the good: The skating is legit. These girls can shred and their interactions all felt very natural and real. It didn't feel sanitized or staged.

The bad: Mostly everything else, where do I begin? The biggest problem is the lack of story and motivations. I get this is supposed to be slice of life but there's plenty little happening in the slice we get. You never get a sense of anyone's character or background, I can't even recall a single name from the film. Nobody has a goal or clear interest outside of skating. When the movie does decide to have things happen they are cliched and heavily telegraphed. The conflicts albeit realistic are just dumb, easily resolved and of course they all are in the end. In a documentary this wouldn't have been so bad, in a movie it's the kiss of death. Without narrative thrust you just watch vacant pretty people navigate their boring and superficial lives for one and a half hours. I found it hard to empathize with anyone, not necessarily because the characters were noticeably terrible but because there was nothing there to latch onto positive and negative. The generally appealing style which could have been an asset also turns into a crutch for the movie. There's no flow to it, just endless repetition of pretty shots and young people having nondescript fun like an ad by a telephone provider aggressively marketing towards teens.

Skate kitchen had potential to be an amazing skateboarding movie or a great documentary, instead it's just a glossy highlight reel, a stark reminder why you should avoid self-absorbed people from New York and an ad for the packaging the product comes in, without providing the actual product. There's no excuse for any of this to be so bland.

Loved it

[A1l9i8m6 · 26 December 2018]

This film shows young women shredding on skateboards as well as forming friendships with other young women. It's great to see independent films like these that show girls doing something strong and powerful and in a very male-dominated arena.

Top wheels

[kevin c · 8/10 · 7 April 2019]

Movie night with Iris.

Skate Kitchen is a joy. A well-observed rites of passage story, and refreshingly a female one.

At the beginning the dreamy, sunlight shots had me a little anxious. Was it going to be another fetish skateboard film. Fortunately, not as it becomes a more deeper, engrossing tale. Skate Kitchen is about friendship, puberty, first love and jealousy. An urban tale but with beauty and joy. Top film.

OWESOME MOVIE

[wikrum · 10/10 · 18 June 2021]

The movie is really good nice concept, motivation & inspiring i like it.......

only finished this because...

[dirtydiph · 4/10 · 26 March 2019]

...i'm pathologically unable to leave movies unfinished. the only saving point was the fashion statements - okay, and the skateboarding/camille's dynamic with the boys. but anything interesting in this film can be pared down to a 5-minute short. otherwise? no plot. which CAN be fine; in fact, i love slow burns, films portraying daily life in an interesting way; cf. Roma.

the glamour of "authentic NYC" is basically equated with "hooligans smoking weed who have inflated egos and a gigantic sense of forever-young syndrome." don't get me wrong: i love films with rebellious characters, views of subcultures in cities, or glimpses of kids in rough(er) neighbourhoods - but only when they are portrayed with richness or showcase complex issues (for instance, Detachment). but i couldn't get around how the characters in Skate Kitchen are so self-absorbed (not with themselves, but with their group). a documentary would have been so much better.

did i mention the script is (mostly) bland? some people are saying this is a film about growing up. it is not. it's a film about a few experiences and arguments among friends, namely the age old drama of who slept with whose boyfriend, how to be cool, etc. the not-fitting-in part is drastically underplayed and simplified.

here is a spoiler-free summary (in fact, how can you spoil a movie that isn't about anything): girl skateboards - cut to typical shot of NYC - cut to friends smoking weed - back to skateboards - rinse & repeat. lesson learned: i need to be more careful about netflix suggestions.

Oh to be young

[iansmith-40936 · 8/10 · 14 October 2020]

I'm a 55 year old man and I loved every moment of this beautiful piece of cinema this was filmed like a docudrama and put you into the lives of the youngsters involved,even if you have no interest in skateboarding I truly recommend this for its realism in how young people meet each other and there ups and downs in life

Cute, but awful acting, script, and plot.

[summerpopsong · 2/10 · 20 October 2018]

Listen, I know that skaters tend to act bored and unamused, but this was a whole new level. No emotion whatsoever, except in the most fake way possible. If you're making a movie with amateur actors, at least get the actors some acting lessons. Secondly, the dialogue was terrible. No flow or storyline whatsoever, and so, so many awkward moments. Plus most of the skaters are written to be very b****y, yet are portrayed positively, which really grinded my gears. On an artistic level... well, it isn't. But on an entertainment level, it's okay, I guess. Doesn't accurately portray NYC culture (which I am fine with, except everyone is calling it authentic and it really isn't). It's fine if you like coming of age movies and if you're interested in skating. (Too boring to qualify as "fun", though.)

Entertaining, but not particularly engaging

[maclock · 7 September 2018]

Skate Kitchen is a decent coming-of-age film for young women in their late teens/early 20s. It doesn't have much of a plot or a story, but that won't bother the target audience. While it wasn't for me, it will suit some just fine.

Female 'Coming Of Age' Story, Featuring Skateboards & New York City.

[Real_Review · 8/10 · 14 April 2020]

Some of you might think that '8' is too high of a rating for this film. Of coarse, you haven't watched it yet, so your opinion is moot. Or, you have watched it as a white-male skateboarder of 30+ years, and you hate it, because it features young girls "appropriating your culture" (if so, stop reading now, and go eat your skateboard).

Girls on skateboards have been overlooked and marginalized since the advent of skateboarding - until now. Someday soon, girls will be riding skateboards in the Olympic games. And, in the near future, HBO will begin advertising a show (featuring these girls) about skateboarding.

So, an '8' may seem high now, but... In the future, society may look back at this film and call it culturally significant.

Even if female skateboarding never gets any more popular than it is right now, these ladies made a great film and they deserve proper credit.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting: 1/1; Casting: 1/1; Directing: 1/1; Story: 1/1; Writing/Screenplay: 1/1;

Total Base Score = 5

Modifiers (+ or -): Originality: +1 (Girl skateboarding film - enough said.);

Authentic Location Shooting: +1 (If your name isn't 'Woody Allen', it can be difficult for a low budget film to get access to great shooting locations in New York City. However, skateboarders know how to make great clips, so they worked it out. Kudos.);

Technical Effects/Make Up: +0.5 (They can skate. It deserves at least half of a point - it's 'technical');

Importance To Genre: +0.5 (This film attempts to bring female skateboarding to mainstream culture. As a result, they got an HBO show. Success.);

Total RealReview Rating: 8

Girls vs Kids

[teveelopties · 10/10 · 13 July 2021]

I am obsessed.

Its everything from the show Girls and the movie Kids combined.

If you like it, you could also watch the show Betty which is with the same group of skaters.

Audio is a mess

[pjbenney · 4/10 · 20 March 2020]

The Spanish lines were easier to understand than the rest of it. The English dialogue needed subtitles. I liked the story well enough but the audio was so rough I couldn't hear what was being said most of the time.

Disappointing

[Dog-River · 3/10 · 29 July 2020]

There's not many female driven skater films out there, so I was really looking forward to this film. But, I ended up being disappointed. The writing was just bad and amateur-ish. The ending felt rushed completely. Acting was weak, aside from a couple of the girls who were actually believable. Skate Kitchen could've been great, but it needed a better script and decent actors.

Ending falls off a cliff

[pjcistheworst · 4/10 · 26 February 2019]

It reminded me of the movie "Kids" at first and then nothing seemed to happen but a high school lover's quarl and then it just ended ha ha. What happened to this script and who approved it. Fail.