An impressive directorial debut for actor Jonah Hill’s with a story set in, yes, the mid-1990s Los Angeles, about a group of young friends bound together by their love for skateboarding — the act of riding and the culture that goes with it.  We follow the travails of a small, poor, lonely, troubled but sweet 13-year-old boy from the neighbourhood who just wants to hang with the older boys and their skateboards — and we see the price of acceptance that is required for entry into that crowd — emotional/physical abuse (which he already takes from his older brother on a frequent basis)  — but that’s a cost our young hero is willing to pay.  A very pointed take on (young) male bonding and the yawning gap between how teenagers are expected to act and how they are.

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