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Movie ReviewBy NATHAN PAIGECall and Post Staff Reporter1 he movie ad states that its “their world above the world. ” How does the saying go, out of sight out of mind? “Rooftops” is about street life in New York. The story revolves around the lives of several teens who live in the not-so-good part of town.Amber (Tisha Campbell), former prostitute and daughter of a prostitute, nowmakes her living as an expert at three-card-monte. She’s a bit jealous of her friend Elana, who has eyes for T, Amber’s ex.EIana(Troy Beyer), is a pretty young girl who works as a lookout for her cousin Santiago, who is the neighborhood dope man. She feels an attraction towards T who, in Santiago's eyes, is from the wrongside of the tracks.:'Squeak (Alexis Cruz) is a scrawny runt who barks constantly and has no bite. But what he lacks in bravery, he more than makes up for in creativity, for he has mastered the urban art of graffiti. The common bond between these three is T (Jason Genrick).T lives alone in a water tower and is somewhat reclusive. Of all his ‘possessions’, he takes extra precaution to guard a battered metal box. What’s inside?He’s admired by everyone who knows him, almost. As of late he has stepped on Santiago’s bad side. Santiago is very interested in acquiring the abandoned apartment complex, which T lives in, to add tohis collection of dopehouses throughout the city. T refuses to move and that’s where the conflict begins. |The rooftops seems to represent a place to find peace and display one’s individuality as well as reside for free. The only problem with this is that New York is hardly subject to tropical climates, so what happens to those ‘roofers’ during the fall and winter? Maybe the viewers aren’t expected to possess a level of intelligence high enough to realize this.The lifestyles depicted by these youths are nowhere near glamorous enough to be admired, but believe it or not, their parents are in even worse predicaments.Would 1 consider ‘Rooftops’ to be the ‘West Side Story’ of the 80’s, which was the circulated rumor prior to the film’s release? Nah. It’s one of those films you forget about a week after you’ve seen it.
Newspaper Details
Call and Post
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Thu, Mar 30, 1989
Page 30
Full Page
Clipped by
Rotten T.
USA 28 Mar 2022
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