A skateboarding comedy aimed at the MTV generation and led by a group of up-and-comers still looking for their place in Hollywood, “Grind” offers nothing new to fans of the sport with terrible skateboarding stunts and a script that must have been written by a group of 13-year-olds in one sitting.
High school graduate Adam Rivers (Mike Vogel) has no aspiration to go to college and enjoys slacking off during his summer job at the local fast food stop. Gathering his three closest friends Matt (Vince Vieluf, “Rat Race”), Dustin (Adam Brody, “The OC”) and Sweet Lou (Joey Kern), the group of guys embarks on a road trip following pro tour skateboarder Jimmy Wilson (Jason London) in the hopes to find a sponsor and spark their own skating career. On their way across the country, the guys hook up with a brash, streetwise skater girl (Jennifer Morrison) who sees their true potential for stardom and helps achieve their dream.
“Grind” is a skateboard with no wheels that never seems to go anywhere. While all four guys definitely have some talent worth checking out, they can’t show it off in the shallow roles assigned to them. The skateboarding (the most important aspect of the film) is treated with no respect, with half-ass stunts performed by professionals in bad wigs. You would hope that a skateboarding film would bring out the sports big guns to wow the fans, but “Grind” hardly makes an effort. The only relief comes with the numerous cameos that appear throughout the film, including Dave Foley, Bobcat Goldthwait, Stephen Root and Bam Margera, who manages to generate some laughs, but even they could never save this dying loser if they wanted to.
1.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody, Joey Kern
Director: Casey La Scala
DVD Review:
The DVD release for “Grind,” however, is considerably better than the film itself. The disc only offers an audio commentary, trailer and music video for The Donna’s “Too Bad About Your Girl,” but proves to be more entertaining in the long run. The film’s audio commentary features director Casey La Scala and the cast of guys in a melee of jokes and stories as they sit back and enjoy the film. Most group commentaries always seem to fare better as DVD specials, and this one is much more amusing when the actors are given the chance to be themselves.
You may be grinding your fingernails into the back of the DVD by the time you’re through, but the only thing you’ll enjoy about “Grind” is the film’s supplemental audio commentary and the huge array of low-key cameos scattered throughout.
