Wayne Collins

Way Past Cool -- Based on the award-winning best seller by Jess Mowry, 'Way Past Cool' is a coming-of-age story told in reverse, for it is the story of a group of young black kids and their fight to reclaim their childhood.

Based on the award-winning best seller by Jess Mowry, 'Way Past Cool' is a coming-of-age story told in reverse, for it is the story of a group of young black kids and their fight to reclaim their childhood. The Friends, as they simply call themselves, are 12 and 13 year olds living on the bleak and ragged turf of 'Oaktown,' better known as Oakland, California. The largest, Gordon, may be their leader, but it is Lyon, thought to be 'magic,' who is their spiritual heart. When a powerful 16-year old drug dealer tries to set the Friends against their rivals, his unwilling bodyguard emerges as a key player in this drama that illuminates America's urban reality in a totally fresh way. The story is both hard and soft, moving and funny, lyrical and yet shocking, as it paints a portrait of children living on the slimmest of edges. But mostly, 'Way Past Cool' is an inspiring, even hopeful, testament to the renewing power of love.

Based on the award-winning best seller by Jess Mowry, 'Way Past Cool' is a coming-of-age story told in reverse, for it is the story of a group of young black kids and their fight to reclaim their childhood. The Friends, as they simply call themselves, are 12 and 13 year olds living on the bleak and ragged turf of 'Oaktown,' better known as Oakland, California. The largest, Gordon, may be their leader, but it is Lyon, thought to be 'magic,' who is their spiritual heart. When a powerful 16-year old drug dealer tries to set the Friends against their rivals, his unwilling bodyguard emerges as a key player in this drama that illuminates America's urban reality in a totally fresh way. The story is both hard and soft, moving and funny, lyrical and yet shocking, as it paints a portrait of children living on the slimmest of edges. But mostly, 'Way Past Cool' is an inspiring, even hopeful, testament to the renewing power of love.