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Roll Bounce
Metascore
59 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
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  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Bow Wow plays the skate-dance hero in a way that's never too cool to hide what an avid achiever the kid is, and he and his buddies converse in a fiendishly alert middle-class trash talk that keeps Roll Bounce jumping.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Roll Bounce, a nostalgic memory of disco roller-dancing in the late 1970s, has warm starring performances from Bow Wow and Chi McBride, who are funny, lovable and sometimes touching.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    The movie is a thing of honey and gloss, yet there's just enough heart in the central father/son relationship, and in the teenagers' ensemble interactions, to make it glide by.
  4. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    75
    Funny and honest.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    75
    Frothy, sentimental and thoroughly good-natured, Malcolm D. Lee's tale of coming-of-age at the roller disco doesn't have an original bone in its body, but it's as energetic, eager to please and endearing as a sloppy, wriggling puppy.
  6. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    75
    A sweet, sunny, cinematic song of praise to simple '70s pleasures, Roll Bounce isn't any kind of life-changing picture, but it's breezy, good-hearted fun.
  7. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    75
    Earns few points for originality, but scads for good-hearted exuberance.
  8. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    75
    Lee pulled me into this coming-of-age story as if it were mine; there's a universal quality to his nostalgia that might satisfy anybody, whether you grew up hearing Beethoven or "Boogie Oogie Oogie."
  9. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    70
    Behind the camera, Lee shows a steady hand and saves his best tricks for the big finale, which generates a lot of excitement out of the collision of disco music and some truly impressive skating.
  10. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    70
    Has plenty of affectionate humor to balance some serious heart-tugging. And as for the roller-skating, it for sure provides a lot of razzle-dazzle action with lots of virtuoso terpsichorean touches.
  11. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    67
    Despite a marketing campaign that appears bound and determined to make its subject look as grindingly dull as possible, Roll Bounce triumphs on almost all counts.
  12. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    67
    This movie is a powerfully silly brain vacation. It's a by-the-numbers underdogs vs. bullies comedy.
  13. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    63
    Whether today's tweens will go for such wholesomely retro entertainment is questionable, but their parents - at least the ones who once donned rainbow knee socks and too-tight Calvins - will love to love it, baby.
  14. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    63
    Roll Bounce rates a friendly nod. If it doesn't exactly kick out the jams, it does move them around a little bit.
  15. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Stephen Cole
    63
    There's the roller-disco music and skating, which isn't so much hot as a hoot.
  16. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    60
    Doesn't depart from the inspirational coming-of-age formula. But it has got enough heart and disco-fever exuberance to connect with audiences.
  17. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    60
    Lee, who played the retro groove thang broadly in "Undercover Brother," dives so wholeheartedly and unironically into this movie about, yes, roller disco, that any faults seem minor.
  18. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    60
    Seriously uneven but often charming.
  19. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    58
    Apparently there's a fresh generation ready to take this at face value. That, in its own way, is refreshing.
  20. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Janice Page
    50
    This nostalgic licorice whip of a movie assumes there's still an audience for a straight-faced, family-friendly salute to the 1970s heyday of competitive roller disco.
  21. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Michael Ferraro
    50
    Nothing about this film is as cathartic as it tries to make itself be because the characters just aren't that absorbing. Instead of tugging your heart, it just spits in your eye.
  22. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Laura Sinagra
    50
    Bow Wow isn't bad. But he and the dudes who fill out X's crew never quite nail the desired What's Happening!! vibe.
  23. Variety
    Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    50
    Funky disco-era throwback never fully jells with a surprisingly intense central tale of father-son estrangement, strongly acted by Chi McBride and 18-year-old rapper-thesp Bow Wow.
  24. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Teresa Wiltz
    50
    The film can't get its rhythms right, fluctuating wildly between comedy and pathos.
  25. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Tim Grierson
    40
    The film's only creative spark comes from Bill Butler and Kishaya Dudley's lively skate choreography, and that you can see in the trailer.
  26. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    40
    A drowsy comedy about a handful of kids grooving and roller-skating, Roll Bounce has heart and good vibes but little else to recommend it.
  27. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    For most adults, and kids raised on "South Park," the painfully earnest story won't hold much interest. And the comedy is tame.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. EV
    0
    Nothing new here. Same old stuff geared at a mainly minority group.
  2. daniellem
    8
    Enjoyable movie. Like Rachel S. said, not a waste of $.
  3. RachelS.
    8
    It was good but, it didn't have a very original plot. But its not a waste of money.
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