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Rolling along on a familiar route
Skateboarding has mostly been a downhill experience in the movies, with the exception of Dogtown and Z-Boys, a 2001 documentary tracing the roots of the sport with rich detail and rare footage. It's a shame that more people may see Grind (PG-13) this weekend than ever saw Dogtown and Z-Boys in much more limited release.
Crude humor and sex jokes usually trump cultural analysis these days. Grind has some rad skateboarders appearing: Bob Burnquist, Bam Margera and Bucky Lasek among them. But they're just window dressing for another teen comedy in which a high school graduate (Mike Vogel) who's swell on wheels takes a road trip with a nerd (Adam Brody) and a slacker (Vince Vieluf) to crack the skateboard circuit.
Maybe they can impress a champion skater, played by Jason London, whose career barely got beyond Dazed and Confused, or his manager (Dave Foley, another under-performer after his Kids in the Hall start). You can bet it'll be tough rolling, but a shapely skateboarder (Jennifer Morrison) will make everybody feel better.
As far as the title goes, Warner Bros. informs us that "grind" is defined as "scraping one or both axles of a skateboard on a curb, railing or other surface." Or perhaps fingernails on a blackboard. The half pipe crowd may get a kick out of it.
- STEVE PERSALL, Times film critic