Prayer of the Rollerboys

Infobox_Film
name =Prayer of the Rollerboys


imdb_id =0102703
writer =W. Peter Iliff
starring =Corey Haim
Patricia Arquette
Christopher Collet
Julius Harris
director =Rick King
producer =Robert Mickelson
distributor =Academy Entertainment Inc.
released =1991
runtime =95 min.
music =Stacy Widelitz
awards =
language =English
budget =

"Prayer of the Rollerboys" is a 1991 independent action/drama, starring Corey Haim and Patricia Arquette.

Plot Summary

Corey Haim plays Griffin, a rollerblader in the not so distant future of Los Angeles which is in a sad state, the city deep in crime and drug activity in the wake of a catastrophic nation-wide economic crash caused by the previous generation. A rollerblade-wearing white supremacist youth gang named the Rollerboys fight for spiritual and economic control of the city, the fascist group founded and led by a childhood neighbour of Griffin's. The Rollerboys carry out their eugenic agenda through both violent gun battles with ethnic gangs, and especially through their distribution of the drug "mist". When Griffin's little brother begins to idolise the Rollerboys and eventually starts abusing mist, Griffin is convinced by the police chief and an undercover cop (played by Patricia Arquette) to join up with the Rollerboys as a mole, in exchange for the promise of a better life for his brother. Having joined up, Griffin's loyalties to the gang are eventually called into question and he is tricked into beating his African-American friend almost to death. He also discovers that the Rollerboy's mantra "the day of the Rope is coming" actually refers to a toxic chemical "Rope" being added to the mist drug which renders its (mostly non-Caucasian) abusers sterile, thus facillitating the fascist gang's genocidal goal.

Characters

* "CASEY"Sexy teenage DEAfact|date=August 2007 operative who serves a country that’s gone to seed: the “Great Crash” has resulted in nationwide bankruptcy, homelessness and anarchy. Major universities are moving to other continents; Germany has bought France and Poland, while Hawaii and Alaska have been resold to Japan and Russia (respectively); people are sneaking out of America, rather than into it, to find decent jobs; even the US Armed Forces are on strike. Unlike most of her fellow agents, some of whom are embezzlers, Casey is an honest cop who believes in the legal process. She recruits pizza-delivery boy/ace rollerblader Griffin to infiltrate the Rollerboys: a heavily-armed youth-gang-turned-national-conglomerate built by teenage millionaire Gary Lee, who’s already conquered the USA financially (by selling the designer drug Heaven-Mist) and now plans to dominate it genetically (by surreptitiously introducing the sterilizing additive "Rope" to the drug). Casey—whose late brother was also a Rollerboy—acts as Griff’s undercover “lifeline,” while gradually falling in love with him. Finally, after she and Griff help the local law enforcement bring down Gary Lee’s empire (or at least a good-sized tendril of it), both youngsters split for greener pastures.

* "GRIFFIN"This lowly, orphaned pizza-delivery boy can skate like nobody’s business. He and his kid brother Milton live under the thumb of a mechanic (and boxing fan) known only as the Speedbagger. All three of them are trying to get by in a 21st Century USA, where anarchy and homelessness have been running without check since the “Great Crash,” when Washington DC filed for bankruptcy. Griff’s life changes when he’s recruited by Drug Enforcement Agent Casey and the local police to infiltrate the Rollerboys: a malignant corporation, run by wealthy neo-fascists. These white-supremacist punks are determined to buy out the US Government itself, like one more rival company…and they could, too, if things keep going their way. The Rollerboys are under the direction of Griff’s childhood friend Gary Lee, who’s already recruited Milton to push Heaven-Mist (the Rollerboys’ #1 designer-narcotic) for much-needed cash. Exceptionally mature and shrewd for his age, Griff promptly realizes what Milton and Casey don’t at first: Gary Lee is as deadly as he is seductive, not only to those who fight him but also to those who fight for him; except for their badges and body armor, the police have become no better than the gangs they do battle with. Forced to choose between loyalties to his country, his friends and his own conscience, Griff “busts” Gary Lee for Mist-running. At least he still has Casey and Milton.

* "GARY LEE"Blonde teenage designer-narcotics kingpin, and corporate buccaneer, who’s rumored to be the great-grandson of Adolf Hitler. Like Charlie Brown, he’s casually addressed by his first and last name together. Once a homeless orphan, Gary Lee is now the director of a youth organization that’s almost as vast and wealthy as the Mormon Church. In fact, the heavily-armed Rollerboys hold torchlit meetings in the same local rollerblade park where they practice trick-rollerblading and beat up undesirables. They also operate nightclubs, office buildings, protection rackets and soup kitchens, and even publish their own comic book! Gary Lee can afford to do all this, because of the millions he’s generated by manufacturing and selling the designer drug Heaven-Mist. The Rollerboys are now designing a new narcotic, Rope, which is secretly their key to restoring Anglo-Saxon supremacy in North America. Unlike most drug czars—and many federal officials, for that matter—Gary Lee worships America and its ideals. He and his fellow Rollerboys strive to improve their country’s domestic situation, regardless of what they have to buy (or steal) and who they have to kill in order to do so. Actually, the Rollerboys’ means and ends are not far removed from those of the US Government, which has declared bankruptcy in the wake of the “Great Crash.” Gary Lee is a surrogate parent (or at least a great bud) to all those working for and with him, particularly his Rollerboy-lieutenants Bango and Bullwinkle. Gary welcomes the services of childhood friends Griffin and Casey, both of whose brothers are devoted Rollerboys, with open arms. Unlike their brothers, however, both Casey and Griffin are moles for the destitute feds. Gary is ultimately sent to prison after “Heaven’s Kitchen,” a shipyard he bought and converted to a Mist-production plant, is raided by the DEA. Yet Gary Lee and the other Rollerboys continue to have power, and their next order of business is to put contracts out on those who stung them. The Rollerboys’ insignia is a Calvary-cross, ending in arrow-points, with a dragon wrapped around it. WORDS TO LIVE BY: “Better say your prayers, boy…the Day of the Rope is coming.”

Trivia

* Was nominated for two Saturn awards: Best Performance by a Younger Actor(Corey Haim) and Best Science Fiction Film
* Corey Haim and Christopher Collet first teamed up in "Firstborn" (1984)
* Corey Haim had to learn how to rollerblade for the movie, it later became a favorite hobby of his. In 2000 he stated " If I don't blade at least 2 hours a day I'm not a very nice guy to be around"
* The film was later referenced on the Eagles Of Death Metal DVD titled 'DVD By Sexy' during an exchange between Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme.

References

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102703/awards "Prayer of the Rollerboys" awards notes] "IMDB.com". Retrieved December 26 2005.

External links

*
* [http://videodetective.com/home.asp?PublishedID=4101 "Prayer of the Rollerboys" trailer] at Videodetective.com
* [http://www.paper-dragon.com/cyberpunk/rns/rollerboys/ "Prayer of the Rollerboys" @ Cyberpunk in Cinema] (background info and RPG stats for the film)