Grind
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Utterly forgettable tale of four teens (Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody and Joey Kern) with aspirations of becoming professional skateboarders who follow a professional boarder (Jason London) across the country hoping to catch their big break. With foolish characters and an unfocused plot, director Casey La Scala's story creeps along, objectifying women and occasionally providing routine skateboarding stunts that don't do justice to the skill the sport demands. An implied sexual encounter, rear nudity, intermittent toilet humor, sporadic crude gestures, sexual references, course language and an instance of profanity. A-III -- adults. (PG-13) 2003
Full Review
Going in to see "Grind" (Warner Bros.), an utterly forgettable skateboarding tale, one is likely to expect two things: a paper-thin plot and some eye-popping skateboarding stunts that would make even nonfans of the sport sit up and take notice. After all, why make such a film if not to show off the often gasp-worthy aerial tricks?
But, alas, "Grind" never takes off. The sluggish story of four high school graduates who take to the road with aspirations of being discovered and becoming skateboarding pros is unfocused and tiresome.
The one-note characters are unappealing and, sometimes, downright nasty. Eric (Mike Vogel) is the foursome's leader and motivator; Dustin (Adam Brody) is an uptight workaholic who is cajoled into spending his hard-earned college fund to bankroll the cross-country trip; Sweet Lou (Joey Kern) is the group's lothario whose successful "Wanna make out?" pickup line is the fulfillment of a male adolescent fantasy; and finally Matt (Vince Vieluf) is the group's highly aggressive deadbeat whose unpleasant and often malicious horseplay borders on creepy.
When director Casey La Scala's film isn't being padded with boring scenes of the guys singing along to rock songs in their van, it is so chock full of flatulence, projectile vomiting and foul-smelling potty jokes that it would seem that comic vulgarian Tom Green had a hand in the making of the film. It's no surprise then when Green shows up in a cameo as a stoned and confused disc jockey babbling about skateboards.
The only role of the parade of nameless young women in the film is to wear tiny bikini tops and show off their navels. These skateboarding groupies are dedicated to the professional skateboarders, swooning over them and vying for their attention by showing off their skin. The film's objectification of women is shameful.
The film's title is derived from a verb used to describe the scraping of one or both axles of a skateboard on a curb, railing or other surface. Yet the routine and repetitive stunts are uninspiring. Lenser Richard Crudo is careful not to show the faces of the actors' stunt doubles or to show them only in a blur or hidden by shadows. But no one is fooled.
Poorly made and undistinguished, "Grind" isn't worth the time or money.
Because of an implied sexual encounter, rear nudity, intermittent toilet humor, sporadic crude gestures, sexual references, course language and an instance of profanity, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.