{ "id": "ep65455wfa", "slug": "wassup-rockers", "title": "Wassup Rockers", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2005-to-2006", "label": "Comedies of 2005 to 2006", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2005-to-2006" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Wassup Rockers is Larry Clark's 2005 drama about Latino punk-rock skateboarders from South Central Los Angeles whose Beverly Hills trip turns into misadventure, starring non-actors Jonathan Velasquez and Francisco Pedrasa.", "snippet": "Wassup Rockers is Larry Clark's 2005 drama about Latino punk-rock skateboarders from South Central Los Angeles whose Beverly Hills trip turns into misadventure, starring non-actors Jonathan Velasquez and Francisco Pedrasa.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2005-to-2006", "markdown": "# Wassup Rockers\n\n**Wassup Rockers** is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by [Larry Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-clark) about a group of Latino teenage skateboarders from South Central Los Angeles who shun their neighborhood's hip-hop culture for punk rock and the Ramones, and spend a disastrous day skateboarding in Beverly Hills.[1](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/12192/wassup-rockers) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/wassup-rockers) It premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) in 2005 and opened in New York on June 23, 2006 and in Los Angeles on June 30, 2006, distributed by First Look Pictures.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director and writer | Larry Clark, who also wrote the story with Matthew Frost[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS) |\n| Principal cast | Jonathan Velasquez, Francisco Pedrasa, Milton Velasquez, Usvaldo Panameno, and Eddie Velasquez, non-actors playing versions of themselves[4](https://www.noahcowanfilm.com/other-films/wassup-rockers) |\n| Production | Glass Key; executive producer Sharon Stone; producers Kevin Turen and Henry Winterstern[4](https://www.noahcowanfilm.com/other-films/wassup-rockers) |\n| Release | New York opening June 23, 2006; Los Angeles opening June 30, 2006; First Look Pictures; MPAA rating R[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS) |\n| Languages | English and Spanish[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS) |\n| Reception | Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 38% from 53 reviews; Metacritic Metascore 56; U.S. box office $221.4K[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wassup_rockers_2006) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wassup-rockers/critic-reviews/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and structure\n\nThe film follows a group of high-school-age Latino boys in South Central Los Angeles who are into punk rock music and skateboarding. In the first segment they go about everyday life in their own neighborhood, going to school, skating, hanging out after school, and rehearsing with their band. In the latter segment they take a bus trip to skateboard in Beverly Hills, where a series of misadventures with police, jealous boyfriends, and wealthy residents forces them to flee back home.[7](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/976096/1/MR45454.pdf) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/wassup-rockers) Critics described the two halves differently: the first half takes an observational, quasi-anthropological approach, while the second half has a more satirical, comic edge.[7](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/976096/1/MR45454.pdf)\n\nRoger Ebert, the longtime film critic of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times), likened the film to \"Ferris Bueller's Day Off\" gone wrong: a group of friends about 14 years old spend a very long day traveling from South Central to Beverly Hills and back, light-hearted and looking for fun but without Ferris Bueller's good luck.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wassup-rockers-2006)\n\n## Casting and method\n\n**Non-professional cast.** None of the boys in the film had any acting experience. They all used their real names or nicknames onscreen, and instead of a traditional script, Clark worked from a loose outline of what was supposed to happen in each scene, encouraging improvisation.[9](https://laist.com/news/entertainment/films-review-quinceanera-vs-wassup-rockers) • [10](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/976096/1/MR45454.pdf) The credited cast includes Jonathan Velasquez as Jonathan, Francisco Pedrasa as Kico, Milton Velasquez as Milton/Spermball, Usvaldo Panameno as Porky, and Eddie Velasquez as Eddie.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS)\n\n**How Clark found the boys.** Clark happened onto the idea for the film about three summers before its release when he spotted Kico Pedrasa and Porky Panameno in a Venice Beach skate park. The seven nonprofessional Latino skateboarders dress like the Ramones and play punk rock music when they are not skating the streets of South Central.[11](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/industrybuzz/article/industry-buzz-2516194.php) In interviews, Clark said he spent time getting to know their story and what life was like for them in South Central, where the peer pressure was to act gangster, dress in baggy clothes, and listen to gangsta rap; these kids instead liked punk rock, with tight clothes and really long hair, a taste Jonathan picked up from his older brother Eddie.[12](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/wassup-larry-clark-director-talks-teens-and-breaking-bones/) The Washington Post reported that, as was his cinematic practice, Clark spent a year with the boys who play themselves.[13](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/07/07/run-of-the-mill-rockers/57b880f2-15ca-4551-985d-5375e3c878c5/)\n\n## Style\n\nThe film combines elements of L.A.'s Latino culture with skateboarding and punk rock subcultures, shot with long, handheld takes in a self-consciously verité style that reviewers placed somewhere between a fly-on-the-wall documentary and something glossier.[9](https://laist.com/news/entertainment/films-review-quinceanera-vs-wassup-rockers) Clark himself considered making a documentary but chose to make it as a feature, a \"real\" movie, while mixing many genres, especially documentary.[14](https://www.grouchoreviews.com/interviews/6334f8475fe75d1811c6270a) Noah Cowan, then a Toronto International Film Festival programmer, wrote in the 2005 festival program that in its immediacy and intimacy the film comes much closer to Clark's photographs, especially his collection *The Perfect Childhood*, than his earlier narrative films do, and that much of the first half is observational, watching the guys skate, rock, and flirt with girls.[4](https://www.noahcowanfilm.com/other-films/wassup-rockers)\n\nThe film's music helps establish who the characters are and where they are; when the group travels anywhere, the score is taken over by two metal acts, Moral Decay and South Central Riot Squad.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wassup-rockers/critic-reviews/)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was mixed. The film scored 38% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 53 reviews and a Metascore of 56 on Metacritic, labeled \"mixed or average.\"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wassup_rockers_2006) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wassup-rockers/critic-reviews/) Positive reviews emphasized its tone relative to Clark's earlier work: Andrew O'Hehir wrote in Salon that shifting his focus away from white kids seemed to have done Clark good, making it the least sensationalistic, and hence the least moralistic, of his films, and Variety called it \"a thoroughly winning and unexpectedly observant lark.\"[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wassup-rockers/critic-reviews/) Ebert described the film as the most relaxed picture Clark had made, largely because its young performers seem comfortable, enjoy each other's company, and approach life with joy.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wassup-rockers-2006) Negative reviews targeted the Beverly Hills half: the Boston Globe's Ty Burr wrote that while the main characters are refreshingly cliché-free, almost everyone they meet in Beverly Hills is a stilted cartoon.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wassup_rockers_2006) The film grossed $221.4K at the U.S. box office.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wassup_rockers_2006)\n\n## Place in Clark's career\n\nClark, a photographer and filmmaker born in Oklahoma in 1943, had earlier made *Kids* (1995), *Bully* (2001), and *Ken Park* (2002).[1](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/12192/wassup-rockers) Reviewers consistently read *Wassup Rockers* against those films: the Melbourne International Film Festival program called it his most accessible film to date, adopting a loose approach to storytelling,[1](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/12192/wassup-rockers) and the [Chicago Tribune](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-tribune) found that where *Kids* was exhausting in its nihilism, this film retains a good-natured charm.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wassup-rockers/critic-reviews/) James Berardinelli of Reelviews judged that the film would give Clark a non-controversial title on his resume, though he found it amateurish compared with *Kids* and *Bully*.[15](https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/wassup-rockers)\n\nReported runtimes differ across reference sources: the Toronto and Melbourne festival programs list 111 minutes,[4](https://www.noahcowanfilm.com/other-films/wassup-rockers) • [1](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/12192/wassup-rockers) the AFI Catalog lists 100 minutes,[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS) and Rotten Tomatoes and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) list 1 hour 51 minutes.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wassup_rockers_2006) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/wassup-rockers)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Wassup Rockers, MIFF Film Archive](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/12192/wassup-rockers)\n2. [Wassup Rockers streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/wassup-rockers)\n3. [Wassup Rockers (2006), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64101-WASSUP-ROCKERS)\n4. [Wassup Rockers, Toronto International Film Festival Program Book 2005, Noah Cowan](https://www.noahcowanfilm.com/other-films/wassup-rockers)\n5. [Wassup Rockers (2006), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wassup_rockers_2006)\n6. [Wassup Rockers critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/wassup-rockers/critic-reviews/)\n7. [Skaters Latino-Style: Wassup Rockers and Los Angeles 2003-2007, Concordia University thesis](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/976096/1/MR45454.pdf)\n8. [The slums of Beverly Hills, review by Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wassup-rockers-2006)\n9. [Film(s) Review: Quinceañera vs. Wassup Rockers, LAist](https://laist.com/news/entertainment/films-review-quinceanera-vs-wassup-rockers)\n10. [Skaters Latino-Style: Wassup Rockers and Los Angeles 2003-2006, Concordia University thesis](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/976096/1/MR45454.pdf)\n11. [Industry Buzz, San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/industrybuzz/article/industry-buzz-2516194.php)\n12. [Wassup, Larry Clark? Director Talks Teens and Breaking Bones, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/wassup-larry-clark-director-talks-teens-and-breaking-bones/)\n13. [Run-of-the-Mill 'Rockers', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/07/07/run-of-the-mill-rockers/57b880f2-15ca-4551-985d-5375e3c878c5/)\n14. [Larry Clark, Wassup Rockers interview, Groucho Reviews](https://www.grouchoreviews.com/interviews/6334f8475fe75d1811c6270a)\n15. [Wassup Rockers, Reelviews Movie Reviews, James Berardinelli](https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/wassup-rockers)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2005 to 2006*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Wassup Rockers\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Wassup Rockers](https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers](https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Wassup Rockers\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/wassup-rockers. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Wassup Rockers is Larry Clark's 2005 drama about Latino punk-rock skateboarders from South Central Los Angeles whose Beverly Hills trip turns into misadventure, starring non-actors Jonathan Velasquez and Francisco Pedrasa." }