The world of skateboarding underwent a sea change in the mid-1970s due to a new kind of wheel. According to Lords of Dogtown, the new wheel first found its way onto boards at a Venice Beach, California, surf shop called Zephyr. Three of the first teenagers to use them went on to dominate the early days of competitive skateboarding.

Stacy Peralta was one of the three teens back then, and he wrote the script for Lords of Dogtown, which is billed as a true story. His character, played by John Robinson, comes off the best in the film. Peralta doesn't wield a poisoned pen. Skateboarding has been good to him and he depicts its early days with a good-clean-fun sense of nostalgia, even if there was a little shoplifting and some breaking into backyards for better skateboarding conditions. The conflicts that drive the story seem to have healed for him long ago. His competition with another skateboarder over a girl seems like more a required plot point than a real heartbreaker.

The other two early skateboarders are a touch less saintly in Peralta's script. Tony Alwa, played by Victor Rasuk, is the cockiest of the bunch. He's described as competing with the sun for the center of the universe. The third, Jay, played by Emile Hirsch, is a bit of a loose cannon. He's the one who eventually shaves his head.

Director Catherine Hardwicke had a surprise hit with Thirteen, another film set among California youth. She shows the same affection for youth — and mistrust of adults — here. Parents are on the margins at best. School is mentioned but never actually seen. Rebecca De Mornay, the charming call girl from Risky Business, turns up as an unreliable mother who looks like she did some hard living in the '60s.

The most likeable of the adults is the least responsible one. Heath Ledger, almost unrecognizable with a scraggly beard and long curly hair, plays Skip, the owner of the Zephyr surf shop. He stands up for the old-fashioned values of the beach. His shop makes no money and his staff work when they feel like it. Skip himself is usually drinking. He sees the value of the new skateboards but lacks the skill to exploit it. The way he runs his shop, it can only produce a few of the new boards while demand is for thousands. Skip can't adapt sufficiently to the exploding situation around him. In the film he represents all of the old-school surfers that get left behind as a new wave of youth explores new trends.

Bigger sponsors are ready to offer Skip's skateboarders much more than Skip can. These promoters, who introduce capitalism into what used to be a way to goof off, come off as sleazy at best. As a case study in marketing, Lord of Dogtown shows what happened to many youth trends once the glory days of the 1960s ended. The skaters themselves become brands and icons, exploited by nationwide companies and magazines as way of grabbing a share of the youth recreation market.