Set at New Year's back when fears regarding Y2K dominated, "Grinders" is a well-made story of a youngster facing the future. It's designed as a crossover movie from Adult Time label, but is primarily for porn fans.
Lucky Fate (an appropriate stage name) stars as a freewheeling skateboarder who dreams of opening up a skate shop where he can also sell his graffiti art. Film is loaded with skateboarding footage, including by cast members as well as professionals, but it is really the street art that is what defines our hero.
Running three hours long, the lion's share of the footage is devoted to porn's requisite four hardcore scenes, showing Lucky and his friends going XXX. Overall it's more gonzo than romantic, but the central story of Lucky and his true love Morgan Davis (played by winsome Maya Woulfe) does carry genuine empathy.
Not much happens to Lucky, as he departs from his friendly mentor Paul (Nathan Bronson), has some scrapes with the police led by Liv Revamped in a well-played NonSex role, and attends a Y2K party where rock band Ass Life performs. Making their presence felt in the sex scenes are lovely Charlotte Sins humping her lover Robby Echo by a pool (with emphasis on anal sex in her segment), a threesome for Bronson with Lilly Bell and Vanna Bardot, mean but well-meaning Lucky's dad Tommy Pistol having strong sex with talented veteran Vicki Chase, and of course the finale of Maya & Lucky making love up on the roof. Picture concludes with Lucky having to decide what to do next: linger on his home turf or go off to Texas with Maya and begin a new life.
Pistol is effective in the movie's most dramatic moments, getting violent with his son. Newcomer Lucky is a dead ringer for Adult star Charles Dera (a younger version of course) but casting Pistol as his dad makes more sense than going for a lookalike contest.
Director Ricky Greenwood does a fine job of providing some realism to the movie's look, yet it still manages to fit neatly into the nostalgic genre of popular teen movies dating back to those '50s AIP drive-in staples. (Only this time the sex is up on the screen rather than taking place on the back seat).
