ATL (2006)
aka: Jellybeans
comedy
drama
directed
by : Chris Robinson
featuring
: Tip Harris - Lauren London - Evan Ross - Lonette McKee - Antwan Andre
Pattoni
running
time : 1 hour 47 minutes
A tightly knit group of working-class Atlanta
teens spend their time bonding over hip-hop and roller skating while pondering
life after high school in director Chris Robinson's coming-of-age comedy
drama that draws inspirations from the real-life childhoods of Dallas Austin
and Tionne Watkins. For a kid growing up on the south side of Atlanta,
the Cascade roller-skating rink is the place to be seen, and it's the place
where the orphaned high school senior Rashad (Tip Watkins) and his little
brother Ant (Evan Ross) go every weekend to forget their financial troubles,
hang with their friends and get their groove on. But outside the rink,
the brothers have problems they can't avoid: Ant is being recruited into
the posse of charismatic drug dealer Marcus (Antwan Andre Patton). Meanwhile,
Rashad's three best friends — including the ambitious Esquire
(Jackie Long) are pulling him in different directions, and his new girlfriend
New-New (Lauren London) may not be as "street" as she seems. As Rashad
tries to hold on to his little brother, he also comes to the realization
that if he's ever going to make something of himself, he's going to have
to step out of his skates and into the real world.