While doing nothing to dispel the stereotype that skateboarding is the sport of brainless jackasses, Casey La Scala's directing debut does feature some nifty boarding action. It is also, at 102 minutes, much longer than such a trifle needs to be. "Grinding," for those who don't know, involves scraping one or both axles on a curb or railing, thereby impressing the hell out of like-minded souls. The plot, to the degree to which it can be so characterized, involves four dopey, Chicago-based skateboarders who'd sell their grandmas to the circus for the opportunity to skate with Santa Monica, Calif., superstar Jimmy Wilson (Jason London). As the formula for this sort of film requires, the four friends are a cross-section of recently graduated high-school types who would never be friends in the rigidly stratified world of real high school: Perpetually broke pretty-boy Eric (Mike Vogel, of TV's Grounded for Life); randy, flatulent idiot Matt (Vince Vieluf); dorky Dustin (Adam Brody), the only one of the group who intends to go to college; and lady killer/professional dog groomer Sweet Lou (Joey Kern), whose patented no-frills come-on line — "Wanna make out?" — works more often than it has any right to. Eric tries to talk his way into Wilson's god-like presence when he and his professional skateboard tour blow into Chicago, but fails dismally. So he comes up with an even better plan: He and his pals will stalk Wilson's tour bus and try to catch his attention with various super-extreme displays of boarding prowess. In between executing various spontaneous stunts and singing along with the car radio, the quartet horse around as their formulaic natures demand, with Matt providing the bulk of the comic relief. He's the smooth operator who engages pretty girls in conversation by telling them he represents the "Free the Twins" foundation, and never fails to be amazed when the girls stalk away in disgust after figuring out that the "twins" he means are their breasts. This routine seems positively sophisticated by comparison with the rest of the gags, which rely heavily on what might be termed potty humor if the characters weren't too old for potties.
