Opening

75% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
25% The Hangover Part III May 23
74% Epic May 24
97% Before Midnight May 24
73% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
82% Fill the Void May 24
—— A Green Story May 24
—— Alyce Kills May 24

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77% 42 $2.8M
55% Oblivion $2.3M
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36% Peeples $2.2M
8% The Big Wedding $1.2M

Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
89% The East May 31

Roll Bounce (2005)

tomatometer

64

Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 88
Fresh: 56 | Rotten: 32

Roll Bounce dazzles us with a classic late 1970's feel, but this coming of age film could have been more than just a spin around the roller rink.

59

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 29
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 12

Roll Bounce dazzles us with a classic late 1970's feel, but this coming of age film could have been more than just a spin around the roller rink.

audience

72

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 55,977

My Rating

Movie Info

A handful of inner-city kids move up to the big time in this teen-centric musical. Xavier Smith (Bow Wow), known to his friends as X, is a teenager growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the late '70s. X and his buddies are the hotshot skaters at the Palisades Gardens, a neighborhood roller rink where local kids roll to the latest disco sounds, but X loses his status as king of the hill when the Palisades closes down. With no skating action close by, X and his friends head uptown to the

PG-13,

Drama, Comedy

Norman Vance

Dec 13, 2005

$17.4M

Fox Searchlight Pictures - Official Site External Icon

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Cast

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All Critics (98) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (33) | DVD (11)

Sometimes a film wins you over with its sheer exuberance and sweetness.

September 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It will remind you what it was like to be a teenager during the last few days of summer. And even though the plot is a little thin, you probably won't even notice until long after the music stops.

September 23, 2005 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
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The end of the dismal summer movie season couldn't have been blessed with a more satisfying coda than the rollicking, funny, relentlessly cheery and genuinely touching spirit that makes Roll Bounce a captivating delight from start to finish.

September 23, 2005 Full Review Source: Seattle Times
Seattle Times
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A movie made in the spirit of: what the world needs now is a bit of innocent diversion.

September 23, 2005 Full Review Source: Toronto Star
Toronto Star
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If it doesn't exactly kick out the jams, it does move them around a little bit.

September 23, 2005 Full Review Source: USA Today
USA Today
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film can't get its rhythms right, fluctuating wildly between comedy and pathos.

September 23, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

For the most part though, the honesty of the performances keeps everything afloat when it could drift into easy sentimentality.

April 25, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net
ComingSoon.net

Mostly innocuous, sometimes tedious, mostly fine for young teens and up.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

For some reason, teasing people about their skin color has become a big theme of brainless black comedies like this. Plus, it unfolds like one long Pepsi ad, with dialogue extolling the cola's virtues in virtually every scene.

May 7, 2007 Full Review Source: BlackNews.com | Comments (3)
BlackNews.com

For some reason, teasing people about their skin color and ethnicity has become a big theme of brainless black comedies like this.

May 7, 2007 Full Review Source: Mount Desert Islander
Mount Desert Islander

Worthy of a 99-cent rental, if only so you can witness the howlingly awful performance by Wesley Jonathan as a self-appointed roller-disco mega-lord called "Sweetness." Kid had me in tears, I swear.

December 10, 2005 Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | Comment (1)
DVDTalk.com

Nothing about this film is as cathartic as it tries to make itself because the characters just aren't that absorbing. Instead of tugging your heart, it just spits in your eye.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

This is the 40th "skating movie" to hit the screens since Charlie Chaplin's The Rink (1915). It is neither the best nor the worst of them - skater dudes may think its cool, but 25 years ago there was the much maligned Xanadu with ELO, ONJ and (sigh!) stil

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment (1)
Urban Cinefile

A spunky, fun little film.

October 13, 2005 Full Review
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

It would take a critic more churlish than this one to sneer and bare chickenlike talons at Roll Bounce

October 8, 2005 Full Review Source: New Times
New Times

The skating routines are a lot of fun to watch, filled with great choreography and backed by great tunes.

October 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Journal International
Film Journal International

Audience Reviews for Roll Bounce

At times, "Roll Bounce" feels a bit silly, but at it's core, it'a about a family in harsh times, as they see everyone around them having a good time. As X (Bow Wow) and his friends have faced the final days of their skate rink, they must choose to go over to the rich side of town to skate, where they run into old aquiantences and new rivals! The emotional tone of this film is phenomenal, seeing as this film goes from extremely silly to extremely heartfelt in seconds. I love the 70's feel of this film, it is done perfectly, and the music choices are fun. The direction is done well enough and the acting is very commendable. "Roll Bounce" is a very nice film to watch!
January 13, 2010
KJ Proulx

Super Reviewer

I loved the detail in this movie, it really game it a 70's feel. All in all it's a fun film with some good smiles and laughs.
October 31, 2011
Eric Alvarez

Super Reviewer

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