New favorite movie

This weekend, we saw a movie that effortlessly combines ’70s nostalgia, social and family drama, athleticism and some really fine performances into one flawless gem of a movie — Roll Bounce, a very sweet coming-of-age movie about semi-urban teens in the age of roller disco. I’m not kidding — this movie doesn’t hit a single wrong note. The fashions, the phrases, the world depicted are perfect late ’70s. The acting is spot-on, and features one of the most real father-son relationships I’ve ever seen on film. Chi McBride, as the father, brings a quiet but heavy dignity to the role, and his interaction with Bow Wow is just real. No cliches, no nonsense, and at one point an explosive violence in the relationship that was both so surprising and so right that it really set the girls back a little as we were watching it (not to worry, no one gets hurt). That makes it all sound heavy when in fact it’s beautiful — and the movie is very very funny, not afraid to play up the silliest sides of the ’70s soul and disco scenes with some characters that would have been at home in the heyday of Parliament, an outlandish appearance by Wayne Brady (and a lesser one by DMC, or, as my kids now know, “D’s for never Dirty, MC’s for Mostly Clean.”). Plus, a couple of scenes with Charlie Murphy that were happily expanded in the “gag reel,” which is the only part of the disc really not suitable for children. Let me put it this way — it’s been a LONG time since I watched a movie two nights in a row.

No suitable weather for skiing this weekend — it’s been an awful January. But we did buy up the last new ice skates in the Capital District yesterday and I finally made good on my promise to take the girls skating. (Sporting goods stores seem to think we’re all ready to buy softball equipment. At these temperatures, perhaps we are.) I had tried teaching them to skate when they were younger, and Bek needed a lot more assistance, and my old skates just killed my achilles tendon, so I hadn’t been in a few years. But now they’ve both been rollerblading, and it was much easier. And soft-booted skates rule. So now we’ve got yet another sport in our quiver, which is just absurd. As someone who really abhors team sports, I never imagined that I would have an entire garage full of sporting equipment, but here I am, EMS’s favorite customer.

We got some snow today, but we’re gonna need more if I’m going to put those snowshoes to use at all this year!