Grind (2003 film)

Infobox Film
name = Grind


caption = "Grind" poster
director = Casey La Scala
producer = Bill Gerber
Casey La Scala
Hunt Lowry
writer = Ralph Sall
narrator =
starring = Mike Vogel
Adam Brody
Vince Vieluf
Joey Kern
Jennifer Morrison
Bam Margera
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Warner Bros.
released = 15 August, 2003
runtime = 105 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
website = http://www2.warnerbros.com/grind/
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0338077

"Grind" is a 2003 American film about four young aspiring amateur skaters: Eric Rivers (Mike Vogel), Matt Jensen (Vince Vieluf), Dustin Knight (Adam Brody), and Sweet Lou Singer (Joey Kern) are all trying to make it in the world of pro skateboarding by pulling insane stunts in front of pro skater Jimmy Wilson (Jason London).

Plot

At the skate demo (mentioned by Bam Margera earlier in the movie) many people are cheering on the pro skaters and Matt, Eric and Dustin arrive. They watch their favorite pro skater Jimmy Wilson (a fictional pro skater played by Jason London). The three skaters look at Jimmy's tour bus and talk about the life of a pro skater. On their way out of the demo, Eric bumps into the girl he saw at Chili-n-Such but is dragged away by Matt. They notice a "product toss," a throwing of products from different companies. Matt steals a skateboard from a little kid and gives it to Eric (Eric's board was falling apart). They try to talk to Jimmy on his tour bus but he is not at the bus. They leave a skate video with the bus worker and it is thrown into a large box of other skate videos that are never watched and are made to get people sponsored.

Eric convinces his friends to follow the tour bus of Jimmy Wilson and forges his own skate company called "Super Duper Skates" to show that they are sponsored to be able to join the skate demos and show their skills. Eric plans to attract Jimmy's attention with crazy tricks done in front of his bus to get him to sponsor them. Matt and Eric force Dustin to use his college earnings to supply them with money for the trip and ask their friend Sweet Lou to use his van. Sweet Lou is a ladies man who does not have to say much to have his way with women. They ask him to join them; he first says no but complies because of a girl's angry father who is chasing Lou. Lou's van is spray-painted by Matt to match the symbol of the "Super Duper Skates" logo.

The four arrive at the first skate demo and are (unkindly) greeted by four other white skaters who dress and talk like rappers, also known as "wiggers". Eric sees the girl from Chili-n-Such and the skate demo for a brief moment before being denied access to the skate demo. They skate in the parking lot with the van and ramps and Matt falls and his board goes flying into the windshield of the four other rappers' car. This scene is the first time that Eric, Matt, Dustin and Sweet Lou are seen skating together. The four skaters are on their way to a night club when Matt pushes a clown to the ground who was trying to seduce women. Matt claims that he hates clowns. The same four white skaters arrive and are given instant access because they are sponsored. Eric, Dustin, Matt and Sweet Lou manage to get into the club and see many real pro skaters and a lot of pretty girls. Matt and Dustin are not able to hook up with any girls but Sweet Lou makes out with a girl that Dustin was hitting on earlier. Eric meets a pro skater and asks him to watch their skate video but is refused. Eric sees his friends dancing in the crowd so he joins and, once again, sees the girl from before and says hi to her but is dragged away by Matt again to dance with them. The four skaters participate in break dancing but are dragged away by bouncers that were called by two of the other four white rapping skaters.

Now on the road, Matt and Dustin fight because Matt threw Dustin's college book out the window. They are soon encountered by the four other skaters who throw fireworks and a slushy at their car. They pull into a motel for a good night's rest. They make a deal with the owner to clean up his messy pool for a night in the motel for free. After cleaning the pool, they use it to make a skate video while being cheered on by the motel owner and other people. After a good time of singing to break up another fight between Matt and Dustin, the four skaters arrive at a Chilli-n-Such and buy food for free using a thrown away receipt. Dustin is sent to retrieve the receipt and is vomited on by a small child who claims he had a lot of curly cheese fries and a chocolate shake. After that, they get to the "Animal Chin Skate Shop", the shop that discovered Jimmy Wilson in 1992. They plan to see Jimmy Wilson at a skate demo that is scheduled there but discover that they arrived one day late. They ask the clerk (played by Tom Green) if they can skate the parking lot and are given permission. After a few minutes of skating, they are outnumbered by angry skaters that demand a product toss and escape in their van along with a girl that Sweet Lou seduced into the van.

Their van breaks down in the middle of the desert because of a flat tire. As the four talk while sitting on a rock, (with Matt suggesting that they not allow girls to come with them on the trip anymore because girls had caused problems with them in the past) the van is hijacked from them by the girl that Sweet Lou seduced (further helping Matt prove his point). Dustin starts to worry about their current situation (no car and no money). The four walk on a dirt road in the desert before being driven past by Jimmy Wilson's bus and find out they have to travel to Tucson. The next morning, Matt is awoken by a lizard in his pants and claims it "actually felt kind of good." They hitchhike to Tucson and, at the demo, Sweet Lou starts talking to another girl, Dustin and Matt sneak onto Jimmy Wilson's tour bus and leave the skate video they made at the motel in the newly-cleaned pool. Eric meets the blonde girl he kept meeting but kept missing chances to talk to her. He finally sparks a conversation with her and tells about their mission to catch Jimmy Wilson's attention by pulling off an insane trick as he passes by them. The three friends meet Eric and embarrass him in front of her. They leave the girl and are almost run over by a man on an ATV. Eric gets the idea to be dragged (on his skateboard) by the ATV and jump off a ramp in front of Jimmy Wilson's tour bus. They pull it off but do not catch Jimmy Wilson's attention and are told by a guard to clean up the mess they made (when Eric knocked over the porta-potties). They leave the skate demo with no money, no transportaion and smelling like "crap." They find out that the girl that Eric finally met (now known as Jamie) has a car but do not ask her for a ride because of Matt's rule (no interference with girls). They look to Matt for a plan and he decides to go to where his parents and sister currently live (a clown school which is probably the reason why Matt hates clowns). Matt reveals that his parents left him to join the circus during his senior year in high school but makes peace with them. Sweet Lou tries to flirt with Matt's sister but is unable to because of how beautiful she is. The four skaters take showers (including Matt), eat and get ready for their final trip to the last part of the skate tour. As they are about to leave, Dustin notices that the girl on the bottom of Matt's skateboard (A Hook-Ups skateboard) shows a striking resmblance to Matt's sister as well as giving the thumbs up.

Once they arrive at the demo, they meet the other four white rapping skaters and are dis-respected but still try to get into the demo. They lie by saying they need to show a kid (played by Jason Acuna) their skating skills before his head explodes but are given passes into the demo to allow them to skate under the sponsorship of "Super Duper Skates." Once they get in, they watch the other skaters and find out that Jamie is, in fact, a pro skater. Jamie and Eric talk and Jamie reveals that she put their names on the list to allow them into the demo. Eric and Jamie share a kiss just before Eric and his friends go to skate in the demo. The four skaters fulfill their mission and skate in the competition with the crowd cheering them on. Eric, Dustin, Matt and Sweet Lou are encountered again by the other four skaters and Eric challenges one of them to a skate duel. After a few minutes of tricks and falls, Eric pulls off a "sick" trick that gets the crowd cheering for him and Eric is congratulated by the other four skaters and they leave.

Back at home, Eric is now working in his father's hardware store. Matt has better personal hygiene and Sweet Lou has given up skating and joined the circus with Matt's sister. After a conversation, Jimmy Wilson's tour bus pulls up and Jimmy Wilson and Jamie come out. Jimmy Wilson tells them that Jamie showed him the tape that was left by Dustin and Matt. He reveals that Jamie also told him they were the ones that were involved in the skate duel. They are offered a legitimate sponsorship and agree with Eric and Jamie, sharing another kiss.

One year later, Eric goes into Wasted Youth (now a pro skater) with the same clerk as his friend. He asks for a bunch of his decks that display the word "Rivers" (Eric's last name). He gets them for free and signs one of them for a kid with a messy deck. Eric leaves the skate shop and the credits roll. Which is how the movie starts off.

Cast

*Mike Vogel - Eric Rivers
*Vince Vieluf - Matt Jensen
*Joey Kern - Sweet Lou Singer
*Adam Brody - Dustin Knight
*Jennifer Morrison - Jamie
*Jason London - Jimmy Wilson
*Summer Altice - Winona
*Bam Margera - as himself
*Erin Murphy - Hot Mama
*Stephen Root - Cameron
*Christopher McDonald - Mr. Rivers
*Brian Posehn - Orville the Scraggly Guy
*Jason Acuña - Little Timmy (as Wee Man)
*Donte Calarco - Buxom Girl #1
*Christine Estabrook - Sarah Jensen
*Randy Quaid - Jock Jensen
*Lindsay Felton - Dawn Jensen
*Chad Fernandez - Rival Skater #1
*Alfred Briere - Rival Skater #2
*Ehren McGhehey - Rival Skater #3
*Jake Muxworthy - Pro
*Shonda Farr - Sandy Moore
*Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait - Bell Clerk
*Tom Green - Colorado Skate Shop Owner
*Ryan Sheckler - Kid at skatepark who challenges Eric

External links

*imdb title|id=0338077|title=Grind