"Grind" sets out to authentically portray the skater lifestyle but unfortunately loses its way after the first half hour or so. What starts out as a promising buddy/road trip movie soon deteriorates into one of the most disjointed comedies (I'm using that term very loosely) of the year. "Grind" is funny when it doesn’t intend to be, and too often falls flat when it does go for the laugh.

In "Grind," Eric the hunk (Mike Vogel), Dustin the college-bound serious guy (Adam Brody), Matt the slacker (Vince Vieluf), and Sweet Lou the ladies man (Joey Kern) take off on a cross-country journey in pursuit of their shared dream of becoming professional skaters. With only Dustin's meager college savings and Sweet Lou's old van, the foursome head out looking for a corporate sponsor. Deciding the best course of action is to chase skating legend Jimmy Wilson's (Jason London) tour from city to city, they hit the road, running into trouble around just about every corner.

Two words sum up the basic problem with this movie: clown college. What does 'clown college' mean, you ask? It's simple. When the four lead characters are stuck without a vehicle, any money, or a clue on how to get home, they visit a clown college - yes, you read that right, a clown college - where the parents of one of the main characters happen to be students. Or are they instructors? Never mind, it doesn't matter. The point is that the four lead characters visit a clown college that seems to materialize out of nowhere. 'Clown college' describes in a nutshell just about everything wrong with this convoluted piece of mediocre fluff. Slap on some oversized shoes, funny costumes, apply lots of make-up and do a few tricks, and maybe the audience won't realize there isn't anything of substance underneath the movie's ultra-thin outer layer.