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Rooftops

1989, Movie, R, 95 mins

Rooftops: Review

The characters in ROOFTOPS, who live atop abandoned tenement buildings on New York's Lower East Side, may have found the solution to Manhattan's housing crunch. "Great view, low rent, plenty of light--just what everybody in the city wants," explains one rooftop denizen. But the film itself exemplifies another modern-day problem: long music videos passing themselves off as movies. Gedrick is a loner who has set up house in a rooftop water tower; Cruz is the young graffiti artist who moves in with him after being kicked out of the house by his mother's boy friend. Their makeshift home is threatened by Velez, a crack dealer who has moved his operation into their building. When Gedrick refuses to work for Velez or to move out, the battle for turf is on. The saddest thing about ROOFTOPS is that it was directed by Robert Wise, the former editor of CITIZEN KANE and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS who has directed nearly 40 films in several genres, including THE BODY SNATCHER (1945); THE SET-UP (1949); WEST SIDE STORY (1961); and many movies incomparably better than than ROOFTOPS. ROOFTOPS was the first film to be produced by the independent New Visions Entertainment, chaired by producer-director Taylor Hackford (AGAINST ALL ODDS; AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN). Made on a budget of $8 million without the benefit of a "name" cast, it flopped at the box office. leave a comment