Grind directed by Casey La Scala

La Scala, Casey. Grind. Perfs. Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody, Joey Kern and Jennifer Morrison. Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, 2003. 105 minutes. $9.99 ISBN 0790778270

Readers Annotation: After graduation, college and the working world are farthest from these skaters minds.
Plot Summary: Most high school graduates are busy figuring out what college to go to or out applying for a job, but for Eric Rivers (Mike Vogel) that's not on his agenda. What he wants to do is skate, and make it big. Eric and his friend Matt (Vince Lieluf) decide to kidnap hard working Dustin (Adam Brody) on a road trip from Chicago to Santa Monica. They pick up the smooth talking Sweet Lou (Joey Kern) along the way and his decked out van that includes a removable skate ramp. They head through a couple small towns, taking on young teenage skaters, picking up hot girls, and getting their van stolen. The quartet attempt to enter into any skate competitions they can and force their way onto the great Jimmy Wilson's tour band to leave a tape of their skate tricks. Eric falls for cute Jamie (Jennifer Morrison), who ends up being a phenomenal skater. The boys, with help from Matt's circus family, finally make it to the big competition in Santa Monica, but the question is, will they be able to enter and win?
Critical Evaluation: Grind isn't an award winning movie, but definitely has some memorable moments. Six years after I first saw this movie, at 18, I still quote some of the funnier lines. As far as post-graduation adventure movies go, this one is on the more believable side. They encounter problem after problem, including getting their van and all their gear stolen, but yet they keep on going. I suppose there are many teenage boys out there wishing the same thing, to be signed by some skate company and make mad cash skating everyday. What this movie is all about, however, is gross humor, meeting girls, and skating your heart out, and it surely accomplishes this.
Information about the Author: Mike Vogel went on to star in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Poseidon and Cloverfield. After being in several tv shows, most famously being The OC, Adam Brody has starred in several more feature films including Mr. & Mrs. Smith, In the Land of Women, Thank You for Smoking and will be in the comedy horror Jennifer's Body in September. Jennifer Morrison also starred in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Star Trek and has been Dr. Allison Cameron on House, MD. Casey La Scala was executive producer for teen greats like A Walk to Remember, Donnie Darko, and What a Girl Wants.
Genre: Comedy, Sports-themed
Age Level: PG-13, crude humor
Curriculum Ties: No curriculum ties.
Book talking ideas: Talk about the benefits of a good laugh and the skills involved in skateboarding.
Challenge Issues: The crude humor might be an issue for some parents.
Why I included it: I included Grind because its a good all around teen movie, and one of my favorites from my teen years. As someone who always wished she could skate, watching other people skate is just as good.