Stoked – The Rise & Fall Of Gator
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Program: B
In one of
the best examples of the American Dream turning into the American Nightmare,
the tale of Mark “Gator” Rogowski should have been one of the great successes
of a young man with groundbreaking and innovative talent that took him to the
top and kept him there. However,
producer/director Helen Stickler pulls off a remarkable look at his life and
what went wrong in Stoked – The Rise
& Fall Of Gator (2002).
Gator’s
gift was a superior knack for skateboarding in a way that had never been seen
before, so much so that he helped make the fun pastime into a sport. He made commercial deals that were risks at a
young age and benefited him immensely, plus, made him a star with a huge
following. However, though the
documentary does not make enough of an issue of this, it turns out he was pretty
much an undiagnosed Manic Depressive and instead of anyone (or himself)
recognizing this and him getting treatment, he rode high for years and went
into a slow decline that included a “discovering” of Christianity that many
with the disease have that has nothing to do with the actual thing, then
complications that brought out the worst in him. That led to a murder that he committed on an
ex-girlfriend’s friend, then turned himself willingly over to the police. He has been in prison since 1991 serving a
31-years-to-life sentence as a result.
This was not a normal killing, though it was ultimately gruesome.
This is
not to say that he is not guilty of the murder.
He is, as a matter of fact, 100% so.
However, though Stickler is more interested in capturing his lost life
and the great and even beautiful sports world (read X-Games) he helped to
create until he had a Moses moment that did not allow him to reach the very promised
land he built. If any of his promoters
or business partners knew or had any hint of his illness or the potential long-term
damage it could cause, they did nothing about it and are as responsible for the
girl’s death as he is.
The
downward spiral began when the sport expanded and he began to become
isolated. If he did not have the
disease, drugs and drinking notwithstanding, he would not have gone into the
direction he did. People always scoff at
people when they say fame is hollow because all they think about is the money
and an imagined “set for life” situation that is more fictional than anything
else. With success and money comes
responsibility. If success was
sufficient enough, Gator would have been happier and why nobody noted his
sometimes bizarre behavior when dealing with death and distorted reality;
unfunny things that seemed funny to him, but turned out to be a cry for help.
The full
frame image is a variety of analog videotaped formats throughout the 1980s to
date, which ultimately ranks above average when cut together. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound comes from
DTS Stereo theatrical film sound, an analog system, which explains why this
sounds so good. Too bad it was not
actual DTS, but that is not to say this was a 5.1 film, and there are no
surrounds here on this DVD.
The
extras, especially segments at their longer length, show the position he was
in. His friends not only missed this,
but then blame him and dump on him 100% when all is said and done. Not one of these people asked themselves if
it was their fault in any way shape or form; if they missed any of the signs of
where he was. Only one came close. Depression kills too, but intended or not,
all around him only compounded the situation.
There is a timeline with links to the documentary and 16 of those bonus
clips that truly expand an already solid work.
Stickler is a very impressive filmmaker and journalist, so much so that
I can make these statements with enough confidence based on the content and
form of the materials here. This is
potentially a very important filmmaker. Stoked is a must-see.
Oh, and
one more thing. The angle of this review
begs the question: was there any glimmer of hope or a chance Gator could have
avoided this fate. The moment happened
on Club MTV, hosted by Downtown Julie Brown.
On camera, she acts friendly, fun, personable, kind and the epitome of
the hip lady. It turns out that in real
life and off camera, there are $3 bills with more authenticity than she. Her arrival at the network marked the
beginning of the end of MTV as a network worth anyone’s time or to be held with
the serious consideration it began with.
At the time Mark most needed to connect with someone who had success and
could at least be nice to him without owing him anything, she ran away from him
and hid from him between takes like the ignorant coward and idiot she obviously
is. This is not to say she owed him
anything, as it is obvious she always took more than she ever gave anyhow. It never hurts to be mean and can produce the
opposite when in the hands of immature, un-professionals who make it on The
Peter Principle like Ms. Brown (not to be confused with the great comedienne of
the same name). I give Miss Stickler
huge credit for keeping that moment in her work, because it speaks volumes
about all parts of the entertainment business.
Even as a convicted murderer, Rogowski is STILL too good for Ms. Brown. I am not sorry for Mark Rogowski, as I am for
everyone who was ruined by being unprepared by the situation that eventually
imploded on Rogowski. There is no
support for new talent going into any sport or entertainment still to this day,
so the few who make it and stay there either realize what is going on or also
need to see this work.
This even
extends to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie
Nights (1997), where it is hinted that even Mark Wahlberg’s Dirk Diggler is
the hollow shell of what he could have become before he changed his name, as
well as his identity to a shallow persona.
I do not think that the Gator persona was that problematic, but in both
cases, the fall from grace was the kind that should have never happened. Diggler did not deserve it just for being in
the XXX film business and Rogowski did not deserve it before the murder he
committed either. The post-murder fate
is an act of self-destruction and anyone who does not realize this is
inane. Rogowski as an at least somewhat
happy and satisfied “Gator” died years before his heinous crime and this
portrait may just make Stoked – The Rise
& Fall Of Gator a documentary classic.
- Nicholas Sheffo
