Initially excited about this "documentary," seeing that I myself am a fixed gear commuter and have been impressed by other riding videos from MASH and Macaframa. The latter, of course, sets the standard for what one of these should look and feel like, and the former being the one that threw open the flood gates for a million copycats. What is noble about To Live and Ride in LA isn't the riding, as opposed to Macaframa or MASH, but it falls into the same category of Pedal. It takes on the grand and arduous task of making a documentary of what it means to be a biker in LA. Not just fixed gear, either, for you hipster bashing 29r jocks out there, there are plenty of different kinds of riders displayed. From the suburban raised SoCal street savvy mechanic to the humble brakeless BMXer, this documentary intends to glorify their city through depictions of alleycats, interviews, and wide shots of a smog filled metropolis.
Unfortunately, everything feels staged like how most reality TV is. This is the MTV of bike culture, and their attempt at bringing Keo into it could not make this better. Scenes of Keo overlooking the city from a hill or chilling with the locals are not as poetic as Macaframa's slow motion sunset pans. PJ Wiebusch in Macaframa achieves a level of finesse that can only be displayed through careful, slow motion study of his technical skills. Watching Phill Cheng's masterful command of skid positions before completely blowing through San Francisco at top speed is awe inspiring. Nowhere in to Live and Ride in LA is this same feeling. MASH SF's relentless hill bombing is completely raw, you get this sense that there is no fear in their hearts. Instead of living up to their tag line, To Live and Ride in LA is not so much "a film about living fast," but rather slowly. There are dull points. There are uncharismatic interviewers and interviewees. There are wasted words and poorly executed edits. While the goal in mind is commendable, of depicting the community and the vast harshness that is LA, they fall short in many ways.
