Rooftops *** (1989, Jason Gedrick, Troy Beyer, Eddie Velez, Tisha Campbell, Alexis Cruz, Allen Payne, Steve Love) – Classic Movie Review 11,425

The 1989 crime and dance drama film Rooftops is an updated version of West Side Story, directed by Robert Wise who won an Oscar as Best Director for the original, and starring Eighties teen heart throb Jason Gedrick as T, the homeless teenager Manhattan boy with a secret love for a Hispanic girl, Elena (Troy Beyer).

When a war starts between downtrodden youngsters living on New York rooftops and drug dealers who want to take over, Gedrick turns his combat dance routines to real fighting.

Jason Gedrick, star of Rooftops (1989).

Gedrick and Beyer look too sweet for the streets, but Eddie Velez is a credible bad guy as Lobo, and the dancing and the music by David A Stewart (Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame) and Michael Kamen are quite fun, even if the film won’t raise any rooftops.

It is Wise’s only theatrical feature film after Star Trek (1979), though at the age of 86 he directed A Storm in Summer (2000) starring Peter Falk for Showtime cable TV.

Also in the cast are Tisha Campbell-Martin as Amber, Alexis Cruz as T’s best friend Squeak, Allen Payne as Kadim, Steve Love as Jackie-Sky, Rafael Baez as Raphael, Jaime Tirelli as Officer Rivera, Luis Guzmán as Martinez, Millie Tirelli as Squeak’s mother, Robert LaSardo as Blade, Jay Boryea as Willie, and Rockets Redglare as Carlos.

The music includes the title song ‘Rooftops’ performed by Jeffrey Osborne, ‘Avenue D’ performed by Etta James featuring David A Stewart, and ‘Bullet Proof Heart’ written and produced by Grace Jones.

Bizarrely, it was disliked at the time as being unrealistic about the realities faced by homeless teenagers. Nobody says this about West Side Story. It’s a musical in both cases.

It didn’t do too well with the public or critics, only taking $2,043,889 at the box office.

Robert Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for both West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965).

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,425

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