If there’s any reason why Skatetown USA couldn’t be brought back it’s because of the loss of Patrick Swayze, though there’s always a chance that some reference could be made to Swayze. The next hurdle would be figuring out if anyone even remembers this movie, and if it could be made socially relevant again. When it comes to really thinking about it, one has to realize that rollerskating is still alive, but it’s nowhere near as popular as it used to be since at one time roller rinks were filled with people. Now they’re considered something retro and are usually kept around simply because whoever owns the business can afford the rent. But fashioning a movie around roller skating these days doesn’t sound like something that would be the biggest draw imaginable, though for the sake of nostalgia a reboot might be possible on a streaming service if only to bring back the idea and possibly get people interested in the idea once again. A lot of us that are in our 40s or older should be able to remember a few good times spent at the roller rink, and this movie would be one more memory to add to the list that might be worth keeping.
On top of that, reminding people of Patrick Swayze feels like a good idea as well since the man was an icon during his younger years and was great up through his prime. The fact that he kept working up until the end of his life is inspirational in a way, but it would be great to see this remade since this was Swayze’s film debut. From this movie, he went on to star in The Outsiders and then eventually became the big star that people remember as he headlined several movies until eventually his run ended, and he kind of faded into the background for a little while before a resurgence at one point.
There’s no doubt that this movie would need to be seriously updated even if it was kept in the 70s where it was set to begin with. It feels fair to say that the cast would be mostly those who would be visually appealing since something would have to be done to make a roller skating movie into something that people would want to watch. Making it into a series sounds like a bad idea simply because it doesn’t feel as though it would transition well and would become another series that get way too dramatic and not offer enough real substance to keep going. In fact, the changes that might need to be made to this movie would likely be great enough that even if people did remember it, there’s a good chance that it wouldn’t be recognizable by the time everything was done and ready to be released. It’s a nice idea to bring something like this back, but the reality is that it might not be the best plan since there are so many different ways it could go awry. It would take a truly talented individual to write up this story and give it a new kick.
That’s one reason why so many reboots and ideas that are taken from the past end up becoming little more than another failed venture that might make money but is panned by nearly everyone that watches them. Some of these ideas are very specific to the era in which they were created and don’t tend to translate well to the current time period. People don’t care much about roller skating these days unless it’s a personal hobby or something that a group of like-minded people enjoys from time to time. Trying to create a movie around such a pastime wouldn’t be absolutely impossible, but it’s easy to think that it wouldn’t really sell itself to the current audiences of today. I could be wrong and way off base, but it does feel as though this movie would require the skills of someone that might know a little about the hobby, the time period, and the characters, and could integrate that into a story that would exist in the right time period and thereby be a little more interesting.
Finding some way to connect it with the current era would even be kind of cool since it would create that bridge between now and then that is attractive to audiences and can tell a story that many people would like to watch. Trying to do such a thing would be a tremendous challenge, but it would be worth it and it would be something that no doubt would manage to get the attention of many people for just long enough to possibly convince them that the movie would be worth watching. If someone were ambitious enough it could work.
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