Just For Kicks: B-Boys and Sneaker Freaks

Last night I finally watched Just For Kicks., a "documentary about sneakers, hip-hop & the corporate game" and found it to be an enjoyable film that could be viewed as a hip hop history flick covering the emergence of the sneaker freak from the growth of b-boy culture, as a context specific study of the power of hip hop marketing or as an example of the fact that real people who really care about something are always more interesting than famous people who can simply buy a lot of merchandise and store it in walk-in closets.

If you're interested in more details regarding the movie, Gil Jewetz provides what could be described as an outsider's view with many accurate depictions of what occurs combined with an honest admission of lack of interest in the subject matter.

As out of the loop as Gil shows himself to be, he still gets some key points spot on:
Damon Dash sucked the life out of Paper Chasers and he does it again here, droning on about how he never wears the same pair of sneakers twice and showing off his sneaker closets, which manage to be both extravagant and completely slovenly at the same time.

The reality is, the more famous the figure in the film, except for D.M.C. who drops an animated tale of the origins of My Adidas from the mind of a dusted out Russell Simmons (yes, he was smoking that dust!), the less interesting they are in comparison to the lesser knowns:
The last parts of the film only really bristle with energy when an individual interviewee gets excited over a tale of discovering vintage kicks in a dingy basement or far-flung store.

My own experience is that Damon Dash's brief appearances fall flat and make him look bad but that such moments don't undermine the overall film and I, for example, found the 50 Cent section well worth seeing in the context of the film, though it seemed to baffle Gil that anyone could care about G-Unit sneakers.

Highly Edited Clip from the My Adidas Section:

But most of the people in the film talk about stuff they care deeply about, whether the person talking is a hip hop journalist, an obsessive sneaker freak or an old school emcee, it really doesn't matter.  These people show their love for and knowledge of the topic and that's the heart of the experience.

Gil does clarify the fact that the DVD includes bonus footage, something that I could not get from the Official Movie Site, from IMDB or from my screener copy.

Gil describes the "EXTRAS":
The menus deserve mention since their clean, simple design both mimics classic sneaker styling and just looks great. The extras consist of a series of six additional segments, including an ode to the late Jam Master Jay (DJ and style-originator for Run DMC) as well as additional interviews. There is also a collection of trailers for other hip hop themed DVD releases.

[Note: Wack rant by yours truly, i.e. Clyde the blogger, removed cause it was kind of ridiculous.]

Available from Amazon:
Sneaker Documentary - Just For Kicks.

Related Post:
Just For Kicks.: The Introduction Of The E-Goodie Bag

Comments

[Sonya K]

It's your girl Sonya K reppin www.nimbusradio.net and I just want to say thanks for the input on this movie, I had heard about it in the streets and was wondering how it was. Now I know and I just might pick it up!