It might not have won any Oscars, but Brink might just be the best movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if it’s because of how relatable it was to my childhood, or my obsession with Disney Channel beginning at age 5, but Brink might be my favorite movie ever. Whoever wrote that script did a great job. The storyline and soundtrack were phenomenal for any movie, but for a Disney Channel Original Movie? Unbelievable. I’ve written about Brink several times on my blog. It topped my top-10 Disney Channel Original Movies’ list over last summer. Whenever Disney shows Brink late Saturday nights, I’ll tweet about it. I’ve had friends (Maureen McKeever, freshman year of college) who texted me to inform me that Brink had been on TV. Regardless of the situation, I’d stop what I had been doing and turned on Disney. But I’ve never had a blog post dedicated the my favorite Soul Skaters. Andy, Gabriella, Peter and Jordan were basically my older brothers when I was younger. I idolized Andy “Brink” Brinker. He was a legend in my eyes. More influentially than just about any athlete I watched on TV growing up. Just as influential as Donovan McNab, Allen Iverson, Aaron McKie and Brian Dawkins. But anyway, Andy is the star. The protagonist. His father had been out of work for awhile because of back surgery. He also happens to be a kick ass roller skater, and a pretty chill dude. He was essentially a stoner without the smoking weed part. He had that laid-back attitude. He appreciated everything about his life until he betrayed his friends, and then he felt terrible. He became a sellout because his family needed the money. It’s a story about friendship, and how far you would go to disappoint your friends. (It’s a weird concept, but Brink really loved his friends-he just misunderstood his family situation). He knew his friends would be hurt when they found out about him joining Team X Blades, but he did it anyway because he thought his family needed it. It’s a great lesson, really. Don’t worry about money because somethings just work out in the end, especially if you are young. Enjoy the little things. Brink, of course, wins back his friendship with Peter, Gabby and Jordy because they were his true friends. His father and him never had that great of a relationship because they had different interest. Mr. Brinker had been out of work, and quite frankly, been in a miserable mood. He didn’t like how his son was always so happy. Mr. Brinker thought Andy had been wasting his time skating. There’s so many lessons to be learned while watching this movie. Disney does a fairly solid job relating to a wide-range of audiences, and Brink is no exception.
I’ll share with you my favorite lines in the movie, my favorite song and my favorite scene.
Favorite lines:
Andy Brinker- “Baking a cake is a lot like friendship. You put a lot of work into it, and sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you thought it would, but it still tastes good.”
Andy Brinker- “Val and his crew were dissing us. We started giving em beef right back, but they wanted to hit it right there at school. Clearly, we couldn’t step off, so we had to battle.”
Mr. Brinker- “Don’t they teach English at your school? What am I askin’ you for? You haven’t been there long enough to find out.”
Gabriella- “That’s how it all starts. You start doing something for love, then you start doing it for money and before you know it, you’re just another sell-out.”
Mr. Brinker- “You are defined by the company you keep and how well you keep it. Not by what you just happen to do.”
Andy Brinker- “Yeah, I wanna win, but no matter what, win or lose, at the end of the day… I’m not you… so it’s still a good day.”
That scene is absolutely classic. Not only because it is the girl from Smart House, but just the line itself. I mean Nunya… Nunya business. That’s great.
My sister, brother and neighbor would join me as Soul Skaters. We mimicked Brink, Gabriella, Peter and Jordy. I think I portrayed Peter, even though he couldn’t do a 540 for 95 percent of the movie. I probably can recite every line of that movie. That’s how much I watched it, and still watch it.
Brink has done a lot of good things for me. It showed me how important friendships are, and the why family is great. It also simply provided me so much great entertainment over the years. For my 7th birthday my parents got me skates. I thought I would be a professional one day. I don’t think that’ll happen, but you never know.
feelingjustswell.com 