South African comedy king Rob Van Vuuren stars in this goofy film that unleashes a sport like never seen before.

Vince Muldoon is having a really bad day. First, he owes a band of Canadian gangsters $33,000. To make matters worse, his father’s mine is in need of $33,000 for repairs. Then, his grandmother is in need of new lungs for $33,000. When Vince is determined to get away from the mines despite his father’s insistence, he seizes an opportunity. An upcoming skateboarding competition with the prize being $100,000. There is just one small problem. Vince doesn’t know how to skate.

Determined to win, Vince decides to create a new sport called footskating. It involves running and performing various jumps without the use of an actual board. He has to form a team and relies on some local outcasts who would only befriend Vince. They including the towering but goofy Boebie, goth girl Nicky, and Vince’s own reluctant brother Delarey. They decide to get training from Santiago, a local dancer whose flow and grace may help the team becoming more fluid in their footskating. However, could “footskating” be taken seriously amongst the crowd?

From the duo of Thomas “187” Ferreira and Brendan Jack comes a film about a sport/trend that was and perhaps still is a major one in South Africa thanks to the Crazy Monkey comedy troupe. Footskating is a where one runs and performs various jumps without the use of a skateboard. It is exactly as it sounds and while this sounds like something ridiculous, think of it as a lighter version of parkour or freerunning, which also involves agility and performing various jumps. Footskating is actually quite fun to watch especially thanks to this film.

Originally meant to have starred a real-life Footskater in Brett Goldin, a member of Crazy Monkey with co-director Jack, Goldin’s passing in 2006 led to the casting of Rob Van Vuuren in the role of Vince, a man who wants to start a life away from his small town especially in the mines, where his father works. Van Vuuren brings his brand of humor to the role of Vince. It is clear he can be seen as somewhat of South Africa’s answer to Adam Sandler and John Leguizamo, especially considering what he has done since, from his hit one-man shows to tackling versatile roles in television and films.

The supporting cast is fun to watch as well. Co-director Jack is hilarious as Delaray, Vince’s headstrong brother who attempts time and time (with face slaps included) to bring Vince back to the mines. Nova “CC” Rudder plays goth girl Nicky, who one can guess has a massive crush on our fearless, who ahs eyes for a skateboarding champ, Lisa-Marie Schneider’s Zoe. Garth Breytenbach is great as the lovable giant Boebie while Jose Domingos brings the spunk in teacher Santiago, decked out in a rare Antonio Banderas-vibe. There are also appearances from those who are fans of Kickboxer 5: The Redemption with Tony Caprari as Raymongo and Robert Whitehead as the “god of skateboarding”, Bobby Skateboard in a hilarious cameo.

Footskating 101 is wild, goofy, and all-around fun! Those who are beginning to see what Rob Van Vuuren is capable of will get a chance to see one of his first films and it has a Sandler-Leguizamo vibe…in a good way! It may make you want to try “footskating” yourself.

WFG RATING: A-

5fm presents a Footskating Productions film. Directors: Thomas “187” Ferreira and Brendan Jack. Producers: Ronnie Apteker and Brendan Jack. Writers: Ronnie Apteker and Brendan Jack. Cinematography: Trevor Calverly, James Frater, and Rory O’Grady. Editing: Kevin Bentz and Alastair Vossie.

Cast: Rob Van Vuuren, Brendan Jack, Nova Rudder, Garth Breytenbach, Elliot Makhubo, Jose Domingos, Andrew Buckland, Marie Pentz, Tony Caprari, Lisa-Marie Schmidt, Robert Whitehead.