A convicted felon looking for redemption, is enlisted by the FBI to gather intel and take down his former employer's drug-front roller rink by assuming the role of beloved mascot, Reuben the Roller Roo. If he succeeds, he'll receive a commuted sentence and the chance to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

SYNOPSIS:

Set in 1981, RINK RAT blends a gritty realness with an absurd comic tone and is very much a love letter to the pulpy classics of Walter Hill, William Friedkin, and Brian DePalma.

HOWIE CHASE, a convict who has been serving a sentence for crimes he committed in his younger years, has come to terms with his past mistakes and did so without rolling over on his former employer. But one day he’s visited by an opportunistic federal agent, EDDIE DIAZ, who offers him an opportunity to return to his criminal life to help shut it down for good. In exchange, he’ll get his prison sentence commuted and a chance to attend the wedding of his estranged daughter. At first, Howie is hesitant and unsure about secretly collecting evidence on his old boss, JACK RIPLEY, the owner/operator of a drug-front roller rink called HIGH ROLLERS. He doesn't want to risk losing it all by returning to the organization that fucked everything up for him in the first place. But as he thinks about the possibility of being reunited with his daughter and the opportunity to make a difference by shutting down Jack for good, he begins to feel a sense of hope and longing for a chance to do the right thing.

As Howie begins to infiltrate Jack’s operation, he becomes worried about being discovered and the danger that comes with it. But as he spends more time there and gains Jack’s trust, he begins to "relapse" and fall back in love with the thrill and excitement of it all. With a little luck (and a lot of violence), he earns a vital role within the organization, as the beloved dancing, drug dealing mascot REUBEN THE ROLLER ROO, and starts to have strong feelings for one of the other employees in the organization, ROSE, and he soon has doubts about his mission and the thoughts of reconnecting with his daughter begin to fade.

With constant pressure from Agent Diaz to provide intel, Howie struggles with conflicting emotions and his resolve begins to waver. He starts to make mistakes, putting his cover and his mission at risk. Eventually, he finds himself faced with a difficult decision. Will he put his own desires aside and stay true to his mission to shut down Jack’s organization for good? Or will he succumb to the temptation of Rose and the criminal life and turn his back on his daughter and the chance for a new beginning?

To decide, Howie will have to outwit a younger/stronger version of himself, destroy valuable evidence, survive a botched drug exchange with hockey stick wielding punks, and confront Jack in a final standoff.

RINK RAT