ROCK RUBBER 45s

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Few are the number of people who could make a documentary about themselves that would be as entertaining as “Rock Rubber 45s.” Bobbito Garcia’s survey of his life as a New York pop culture icon of basketball, hip-hop, sneakers, filmmaking, and all-around bon vivant is captivating for its unabashed honesty and sincerity.

Born of Puerto Rican decent, “Bobbito the Barber” describes his warts-and-all childhood under a workaholic mother and a negligent father. His swagger and self-deprecation come in equal parts. He fearlessly wades the waters of his sexual abuse victimization to describe how he was able to put the past behind him. Tricky stuff.

Also heartbreaking is Bobbito’s telling of his time spent playing basketball at Wesleyan, where his stellar basketball skills were ignored with a vengeance by a racist coach.

Rosie Perez, Michael Rapaport, Questlove, and Lin-Manuel Miranda are just a few of the celebrities who give their two cents about Bobbito’s dynamic influence on culture, especially that of New York City.

Bobbito’s litany of accomplishments run the gambit from performing basketball tricks at stadiums across the country, authoring the first article (“Confessions of a Sneaker Addict” for Source magazine) about the intricacies of sneaker culture, authoring a book about sneaker culture, working as a promo rep during the early days of Def Jam Recordings, to hosting a TV show about sneakers.

“Rock Rubber 45s” is a personalized crash course into New York culture that charms by virtue of this film’s charismatic subject. Sure it’s self-reflexive; that’s the point. The music is infectious, the graphics are slick, and the vibe is hot. It might not be the best documentary every made, but this movie jams.

Not Rated. 96 mins.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE

    Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

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Anyone holding a strong opinion about Lance Armstrong’s dramatic rise to the top of competitive cycling and sour fall from grace should see Alex Gibney’s from-the-horse’s-mouth documentary.

Profiting from the fact that Gibney started work on the film in 2008 — at the time of Armstrong’s post-retirement return to the Tour de France — the documentary captures crucial incidents that had far-reaching implications for Armstrong and for competitive cycling.

Gibney’s close relationship with Lance Armstrong during and after the doping scandal allows for a deep level of personal investment on both sides. The film’s nucleus derives from straightforward face-to-face interviews between Gibney and Armstrong.

A more than adequate telling of Armstrong’s inspiring early story as the only child of a broken family who became a cycling phemon before being struck with testicular cancer, leads into his unprecedented seven consecutive Tour de France wins — from 1999 to 2005.

Gibney leaves nothing out. Armstrong’s contrite interview with Oprah Winfrey sets the tone of honesty that the disgraced cyclist uses in spelling out details of his decisions over the course of his career. Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari’s participation in doping cyclists such as Armstrong and others becomes a primary focal point.

Anyone who has seen Chris Bell’s powerful 2008 documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster*” knows where the story is headed. There isn’t a pro sport on the planet that didn’t advance through the use of anabolic steroids for an extended period of time. Cycling is no exception.

There’s no question that Lance Armstrong’s hubris caused him to mistreat teammates, journalists, and everyone around him. There’s also no question that he wasn’t engaged in a drugging practice that every one of his competitors also took advantage of. There is no happy ending, or easy conclusion, to this story.

Rated R. 122 mins.

THE GOOD SON: THE LIFE OF RAY BOOM BOOM MANCINI

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Noted ‘80s era lightweight boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini is the subject of a passionate and stylishly composed documentary that allows the charismatic champion from Youngstown, Ohio to tell his story of tremendous victories and terrible losses. This narrative admirably transcends the 20th century immigrant narrative template, which is all but forgotten now that voyeurism is valued higher than historic relevance.

Let's get the obvious first question out of the way: Ray Mancini adopted his dad’s boxing name “Boom Boom” with a dream of living up to family tradition.

Anyone who has heard Warren Zevon’s haunting song “Boom Boom Mancini” (from his “Sentimental Hygiene” album) knows that Mancini “was responsible for the death of Du Koo Kim.” But few listeners know about the circumstances of the 1982 fight that changed the rules of boxing forever — fights were reduced from 15 to 12 rounds as a result of the Mancini/Kim bout that left Du Koo Kim with a blood clot in his brain, which eventually killed him.

Director Jesse James Miller compiles interviews with Mancini's neighbors, friends, priests, family members, cops, and boxing luminaries to explain how a kid from a Sicilian working-class family worked diligently to follow in his father’s footsteps as a pro boxer, struggling in the shadow of his older boxer brother Lenny. Mancini biographer Mark Kriegel adds profound insights with a healthy dose of editorial veracity.

Youngstown, Ohio-born actor Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”) recounts following his friend Raymond’s career as a hometown boxing phenomenon. O’Neill explicates the mob-ruled cultural landscape of Youngstown, where a steel-mill worker could raise a family and have a secure working-class lifestyle. But if a guy wanted to move up and “swim with the sharks,” then he'd “better be a shark.”

Such are the social circumstances that put the 21-year-old Boom Boom Mancini in the respectful orbit of such celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rourke, and Sylvester Stalone — Mancini’s star burned bright and the future seemed to hold all that fortune favors. Was Stalone’s “Rocky” based on Raymond Mancini? I think you know the answer.

However undone by a hypocritical media and a corrupt boxing system, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini is revealed as more than merely a survivor. It would spoil the impact of the documentary’s perfect arc to describe the essential aspect of the Mancini/Kim narrative that brings it all home.

Suffice it to say that “The Good Son” is one of those documentaries that could easily slip under the public radar. With so few “stand-up” guys left in the world, it’s refreshing to meet up with Boom Boom after all these years and discover an admirable man with all of the hard-earned self-respect that anyone could hope to achieve. Don’t miss “The Good Son.”  

Not Rated. 90 mins.