United Skates

2018

1h 30m

Documentary

List

100%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

Credited with incubating East Coast hip-hop and West Coast rap, America's roller rinks have long been bastions of regional African-American culture, music and dance. As rinks shutter across the country, a few activists mount a last stand.

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hayley b

really great, informative and eye opening documentary of our roller skating history, I actually had no Idea it's where several famous people in rap/rnb started out as they were shunned from the music industry so were left to perform at roller rinks! it's a very good example in the struggles of equality and brutal violence of police force as well as rival gangs

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Raising awareness. So this is a documentary that takes a look at skating rinks all across America. Many are not aware of their rich history, and many do not realize what a huge part they are in African-American culture. This film aims to enlighten. Now I didn't know anything about this going in, including the mere existence of the film itself. It came as a recommendation from my wife, and if you couldn't tell by my recent review of Roll Bounce, she wants to share more skating movies with me. After giving this a view, I think it's safe to say that this is a pretty eye-opening documentary. Now, this is a weird case because I feel like the less you know about skating, then the more I would recommend this. That's not to say that there isn't something here for people who lace up. You get to see daunting moves executed here, and if nothing else, it's worth watching to see how many different styles of skating there are. As someone who doesn't skate, I had no idea how drastically different skating is in Texas than it is in Illinois; a Texas Slowwalk is barely in the same category as a Chicago Underground, and the only thing they share is that they both involve roller skates. That is all here, but it's not what this movie is about. This film exists to showcase how crucial roller skating and the rinks are to black culture, and what a huge deal it is that so many rinks are closing and being rezoned commercial. This makes it so there are fewer community hubs and more Home Depots. It's fascinating and concerning because these rinks date back to segregation, and if the rink is owned by somebody white from that time, then you're going to see so many rubbish rules that only get enforced against black people. You get to watch an extremely cringe-y interaction between an employee and a black family, and it just goes to show that this racism is so deeply engrained that these employees don't even realize that they are perpetuating racism. This isn't a hidden camera documentary, and they would have had to know that this is being filmed. This documentary understands what this community is all about. Because it is across the entire nation, I can only imagine how much footage was shot for this. They whittled it all down to being less than 90 minutes, so you are truly seeing the best of the best. Despite being such a sprawling and vast subject matter, they managed to make a very intimate little film, and give it an enthusiastic recommendation.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film explores many aspects of Black culture (music, dance, segregation, police relations, and history) through the world of roller skating. As a Canadian we don't have the same roller skating culture here, so I found this film fascinating. Roller skating has provided a very necessary safe, fun, and peaceful outlet and place of gathering for the Black community. I really hope this culture is kept alive beyond this film. It will be a challenge even more now with the pandemic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Rich city skate IS NOT Chicago. We got our own skate style and rinks. Those suburban skaters are not Chi-town finest skaters. Come to the rink any Friday and see the REAL Chi-town skaters... Fraud

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Incredibly accurate documentary of the wildly vibrant roller skate scene. I personally learned so much about its winding history against oppression. Though so many rinks have been closed, and the remaining rink owners often don't have its patrons at heart, we need to hold onto this amazing art form. The culture will live on as long as we still have passion to roll!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Authentic and amazing! A must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

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Rafer Guzman

Newsday

A celebration of a vibrant black subculture that also shows how discrimination can pervade even the most harmless pastime.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 18, 2019

Full Review

Pat Brown

Slant Magazine

The documentary brings to the foreground a fascinating and, moreover, beautiful culture lurking in the background of other stories.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 9, 2019

Full Review

Teo Bugbee

New York Times

This is a passion project in the best sense of the word, a movie in which the ingenuity and dedication of the filmmakers illuminate the same qualities in their subjects.

Nov 29, 2018

Full Review

Matt Cipolla

Film Monthly

Heavy subjects abound . . . but the directors dust the film in a sweetness that livens matters more often than it trivializes them. This is cinematic comfort food with substance.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 25, 2020

Full Review

Matt Pais

MattPais.com

Joyous, informative, necessary.

Rated: B+

Jun 19, 2020

Full Review

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Hammer to Nail

In a brisk 89 minutes, they give us the fabulous world of ... good times, great music, and pretty amazing skating.

Feb 22, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Credited with incubating East Coast hip-hop and West Coast rap, America's roller rinks have long been bastions of regional African-American culture, music and dance. As rinks shutter across the country, a few activists mount a last stand.

Director: Dyana Winkler, Tina Brown
Producer: Jim Butterworth, Daniel J. Chalfen, Simon Horsman, Mike Jackson
Screenwriter: Dyana Winkler
Production Co: Los Angeles Media Fund, HBO Documentary Films, Get Lifted Film Company, Sweet Ninja Films, Naked Edge Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2019
Runtime: 1h 30m

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