Forget fortune. Forget fame. Forget furthering
world peace or contributing to the betterment
of society. All Eric wants to do with his life is
skateboard. But despite his passion, he just
can't seem to get anyone to sponsor him. And
sponsorship provides so much more than just
little things like food and clothing: It brings
respect, honor and highly coveted slots at
professional skateboarding competitions.
But Eric's not without a plan. He's going to
follow his skateboarding legend Jimmy
Wilson across country all summer long while
popping kickflips, shredding street courses,
and just hoping to get noticed by his idol. All
he has to do is get his one-dimensional
friends — Dustin (the uptight,
college-bound brainiac), Sweet Lou (the slick
womanizer who prizes his skills of seduction)
and Matt (the hygienically challenged goof-off)
— together for a road trip. Being very
much interested in fame, fortune and the
affections of scantily clad skating groupies,
the three heartily jump on board and set off to
have the summer of their lives.
• positive elements: Eric
displays unrelenting perseverance, refusing to
abandon his aspirations until he has done
everything in his power to achieve them. His
example inspires Dustin, Matt and Lou, and
bonds the four together in a tight friendship.
Eric also stands up for a comely skateboarder
named Jamie when she's rudely insulted. Matt
reunites with his estranged parents and
proclaims his love for them. [Spoiler Warning]
After Eric gets a professional sponsorship, he
showers young novices with a graciousness
he didn't receive when he was in their shoes.
• spiritual content: When
stranded in the desert, Eric looks for a "sign"
and receives one when Jimmy Wilson's tour
bus drives right past him. A live performance
by the band Blindside features an extended
cut of the song "Pitiful," which testifies to
Christ's redeeming grace. While looking for
inspiration, Matt imagines angels descending
from heaven.
• sexual content: In the
world of Grind, women exist mainly as
eye candy or objects of sexual desire. They
constantly exhibit sleazy fashion sense
— a fact that the camera and the film's
male protagonists often dwell on — and
hang around famous skateboarders for no
reason other than to hook up with them. Sweet
Lou's sole desire in life appears to be
bedding as many women as possible (he
schedules multiple scores each day and
brags about being with nubile high school
girls). Almost anyone he comes on to
succumbs to his charms and a bouncing van
implies that he has intercourse with a comely
groupie (she's later seen pulling up her pants
at a distance). A private party hosted by
skating pros features slinky exotic dancers
and fondling couples; silhouettes show Sweet
Lou spanking a performer. Matt urges women
to strip off their tops for him and laments that
he's not getting any action despite the fact he's
no longer a virgin (which prompts Dustin to
make a crack about bestiality). A skateboard
shop clerk discusses how he arranges his
anatomy. Eric's dad passionately kisses his
trophy wife and slaps her on the rear. Dustin
makes sexual motions with a mop. Eric jokes
about masturbation. Dustin mentions how he
bought pornography for the guys. Matt is
"violated" by a lizard as he sleeps. A
12-year-old talks about wanting to go to a strip
club. Various characters grab their crotches.
Eric and Jamie kiss several times.
• violent content: Matt and
Dustin have a habit of playfully slugging one
another. When Matt prematurely yanks a cast
off his arm, Dustin squeezes the injured limb,
eliciting wails of pain from Matt. An angry
father threatens to castrate Sweet Lou and
attacks his van with a baseball bat. A wild
crash sends a skateboard through a car's
windshield. Matt violently shoves a clown. A
particularly irresponsible scene shows guys
throwing fireworks into cars as they tear down
the highway. A man tumbles off an ATV.
Outtakes feature a number of skateboarders
wiping out.
• crude or profane
language: A tire blowout muffles a use of
the f-word. Even so, there are about 10
completely audible uses of the s-word, along
with around 40 other profanities and crudities.
God and Jesus' names are abused about a
dozen times. A couple of obscene gestures
crop up.
• drug and alcohol content:
When trying to convince Eric to take a job at a
hardware store, his dad cites "sniffing
lacquer" as a perk. A party features alcohol
that leaves one person unconscious. After a
competition, a man exclaims, "The 40s are on
me!"
• other negative elements:
The film opens with Eric skating through the
halls of his high school right before
graduation and tearing down a banner
emblazoned with the question "What are you
doing with your life?" That symbolic action
represents Eric continual striving against
what's "sensible" in order to achieve his
dream. And while pursuing one's dreams with
passion is admirable, Grind refuses to
grant any credence to the idea of approaching
life with measured consideration and
responsibility; it's either a full-bore,
adrenalized and spontaneous or it's a boring
subsistence frittered away in pointless middle
class toil.
Scatology has its own special place in the
film. Matt constantly breaks wind and
murmurs "greetings from the interior" after
one particularly noxious episode. The guys
press a cold soda to Matt's crotch after he
pulls a muscle. After consuming multiple
bowls of chili, a man messily defiles a public
restroom (implied). An antagonistic
skateboarding team moons Eric and the guys.
Later, the four urinate together by the side of
the road (Matt accidentally sprays Dustin and
the camera glimpses their naked rears). A
young boy explosively splatters Dustin with
vomit after eating too many chili cheese fries.
The guys knock over a row of porta-potties and
have to clean up the mess.
Songs by troublesome acts such as Sean
Paul, Rage Against the Machine and Trapt
make appearances. An insulting moment
features Matt mistaking a little person for a
child.
• conclusion: Grind is
in a bind. You see, to the uninitiated the term
conjures up images of dirty dancing instead of
skateboarding stunts. A title such as "Ollie" or
"Fakie 180 Shove-It" might have brought the
sport of Tony Hawk and Chad Muska more to
the forefront. But Grind's moniker ends
up being appropriate since the film is more
interested in randy sexuality than halfpipes. In
fact, so much time ends up being devoted to
plunging bodices, shimmying rears and taut
tummies (and rampant sexual innuendo and
scatological quips while we're at it) that one
begins to feel as if he's stumbled into an
edited version of the Tom Green vehicle
Road Trip. Those who want actual
thrashing action would do better with ESPN's
Ultimate X. While that PG-rated flick
may be less than perfect, it aims higher than
the belt buckle, something Grind can't
boast.
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