When I saw the trailer for this movie I expected to see a bunch on Minnesota kids doing some standard handrail tricks on all the famous Minnesota rails and a bunch of resort footage as well. Well “The Joke’s Over” is kind of like that but instead of standard handrail tricks there is some progressive and gnarly bangers getting thrown on the famous Minnesota spots but also spots I had never seen before. Not one rider rode like anyone else in the video and each had their own unique and laid back style. Watching “The Joke’s Over” I got the feeling that I was watching a bunch of friends all having fun snowboarding while pushing one another.
The intro to this movie was perfect it starts with a quote and dedication to one of my favorite writers Hunter S. Thompson which, made me know right away I was going to dig this video. The rest of the intro consisted of Kids/Know like artsy shots and some riding shots set to some good indie music, which set the tone and pace for the entire film reaffirming my first thought that this movie was going to be really sick.
The first part went to Chad Dalman who like all the other riders had very good style. His tricks overall were very sick with proper presses and boardslides centered between the bindings. He even had some good jumping shots even though he had a few questionable grabs.
Next up was Nick Buchner who killed it. He had a great mix of creative tricks and banger handrail maneuvers. His front 1 on switch back 3 off a good sized handrail was perfect and does a trick on a rail I have never seen someone do before that will turn a bunch of heads. Overall great part even though there is no jumping in it at all.
Tarah Michilot, sister of Jonas and Jordan, holds it down for the girls in her part. She does some pretty big ollies in her part with style, which rivals her brothers. I think in a few years she is going to make some waves in the woman’s snowboarding industry.
Matt Boudreaux starts his part of with a bang with one of the best park rail lines I have ever seen. I really liked the tricks that Matt does his only problem is that he was lacking tricks in the streets. When he brings all his tricks out of the park and to the streets I believe he will turn a lot of heads. Keep an eye out for more from this kid.
Jack Thonvold holds it down for the baggy pants kids with some flawless style and smooth jumping. The highlight for me from Jack’s part was a front 1 down a stair set that will make Matty Ryan quake in his boots. This kids got style and the moves to back them up.
Cody Biersdorf has the next part, which has some of the best rail riding in the entire movie in it, which is saying a lot. He has one line on back-to-back corrugated pipes that is just oozing style. Then he backs everything up with a perfect front board through a down-flat-down-flat-down-donkey dick with sick style. Almost every part in the movie has cameos from other Minnesota rides but Cody’s is the only one with a rider worth mentioning, Justin Fronius.
Justin’s style makes it so that his cameo turned the part into more of a shared part. He has some stylish rail tricks on both park features and some burly street rails but also has some amazing jumping footage. I felt like I was watching a young Zac Marben in all his shots, that’s how stylish his jumping footy was. I am very excited to see more footage from Justin in the future.
My personal favorite part comes from Dan Liedahl. Dan has what in my opinion is the best style out of any up and coming rail rider today. He has presses, which are sky high and held that high the whole time. Also while most riders’ presses get lower on street rails, Dan’s get even better if that’s possible. If his presses weren’t enough his boardslides are between the bindings and are very skate style. Dan is another rider that I am very excited to see more footage form in the future.
The last part goes to Brandon Rhodes who completely deserves it. His mix of perfectly executed basic maneuvers and progressive maneuvers make him stand out from the pack. He does a backside 3 pivot on a street rail and on a down-flat-down-flat-down does a 50-50 to front 1 switch 50-50 on the last kink just to name some of his bangers. Brandon throws down and ends the video on a very very high note.
“The Joke’s Over” felt more like watching a skate video rather than your average snowboard video, which is a great thing. From it’s fast paced riding to lack of dolly shots; “The Joke’s Over” delivers. I believe the video is going to be released online but to get a hard copy go to the Make Production Site and buy it. It’s well worth the $10.
