Review: Skate Kitchen updates Kids for the Instagram generation

For all the talk of how New York City has changed over the years, there is still a grimy underbelly to the city, a wild hodgepodge of artists and unique characters that hold an undeniable appeal for those looking to break free from whatever small town they may be from.

In director/co-writer Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen, 18-year-old Long Islander Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) is is forced to skate in secret after a brutal accident, until she comes across a skater gathering in New York where she meets the young women that make up Skate Kitchen, an all-female skating crew (played by the crew’s real members).

Camille is immediately infatuated with the crew, who spend their days performing and filming tricks throughout the city, talking trash, and offering up a strong female-centric community in the midst of the bro-heavy skate culture. Camille eventually runs away from home to stay with one of the skaters, which results in a fairly standard coming-of-age story, albeit one with far more shredding.

Moselle comes from a documentary background (including 2015’s The Wolfpack) and she brings that sense of realism to the crew of Skate Kitchen, letting the camera linger on the girls and the and their exploits throughout the city, from their skate park homebase, to the filthy apartment of the male skaters (including a copper-headed Jaden Smith).

The plot may be almost inconsequential, but Moselle has a knack for wringing high drama out of everyday teenage life, where every interaction feels laced with unease and potential. The entire Skate Kitchen crew are made up of hilarious and unique women, and it’s easy to see how Camille would fall hard for their lifestyle, as opposed to her sheltered life back on Long Island.

With its emphasis on teenage skateboarders, the film almost feels like an updated version of Larry Clark’s 1995 cult fave Kids for the Instagram generation. Like with Kids, Moselle isn’t interested in judging these characters — we follow their unfolding days with a keen understanding that things can go wrong at any moment, but always aware that these women are in full control of their lives.

Skate Kitchen works best almost as a boutique skate video, with Moselle’s long shots of the crew skating through the streets of New York, taking over the road in a claustrophobic Chinatown, and grinding off bank property in Manhattan. The film showcases a New York we rarely see on film any longer, as the girls move throughout the city, from the glitz of upper Manhattan to the down and dirty parks and concrete structures where the girls spend their days working on moves.

While there is a small romantic subplot tucked into the film, the men in Skate Kitchen are more of a hinderance — they take up too much space at the park, offer a character laced weed then scramble when she nearly overdoses, and generally try to undermine the Skate Kitchen crew at every opportunity. If anything, the true love story at the heart of the film is between the women who make up the crew, women who’ve bonded together to make their mark in a traditionally male-dominated sport and who refuse to put up with any BS. In that sense, Skate Kitchen is an empowering look at a group of diverse young women, one that is destined to inspire more women to pick up their first deck and start shredding.

Skate Kitchen is in theatres now.