1/10
Makes The Krofft's "Lidsville" Look Like High Art
2 February 2001
One of the worst films ever made. The fact it was aimed at the pre-teen market doesn't lessen its staggering badness. Make no mistake: allowing a minor to sit through this garbage is a latent form of psychological child abuse.

Zack is a new boy in town who's getting picked on by a child-gang of skateboarders. Zack's dad is too busy to pay attention to his son (and Lord knows where mom is), so Bess Armstrong gives Zack a magic motorized skateboard. A bolt of lightning a la Short Circuit causes the board to become possessed by the spirit of Dom DeLuise. With his new annoying talking skateboard, Zack can fly away from his tormentors and perform rad board tricks, although the price he pays is the loss of his immortal soul (OK ... not really, but DeLuise's jokes are so utterly brain-draining, that's how it feels).

Zack's dad starts falling for Bess Armstrong, although a local used car dealer already has his eye on her. It just so happens that this car dealer sired the leader of the skate gang that hates Zack. A hidden treasure map is thrown into the mix so Zack can bring his father and Bess Armstrong together.

The acting is awful, the writing abysmal, the skateboarding mediocre at best, and the production values are nonexistent. In fact, this whole flick looks as if it was shot in the early 80's despite its 1993 release. The talking skateboard itself is horrendous; it looks like a BROKEN background prop from Far Out Space Nuts. The talking skateboard chit chats an awful lot, but his mouth only barely moves (and it's always out of synch when it does). The board itself seems too clunky to pull the rad stunts Zack achieves. In short, a sock puppet would have been just as effective in the role of the skateboard.

If you are a bad movie fiend, Skateboard Kid is certainly worth a look. You'll find yourself asking, "How did this film ever get made?" rather frequently. It exudes a certain Star Wars Holiday Special trial of endurance quality that some B-movie experts might find quite challenging.

For everyone else: STAY AWAY. YES, it's really THAT BAD!!
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