Gleaming the Cube

'Gleaming the cube' is the term applied for that moment when pirouetting skateboarders momentarily leave the ground to carve their way through the air. It's the type of thing rebel without a high school diploma Brian (Slater) loves to do, much to his parents' despair. But he's first to rally to their cause when tragedy strikes, getting his act together to take the law into his own hands. According to the hackneyed conventions of this so-so thriller, this involves ridding himself of tatty clothes and stubble. He delves into the Orange County underworld, which is racier than you might think. The Vietnamese community is up to no good, with corruption infiltrating a seemingly respectable medical supply business. Slater and Le Tuan (as a Vietnamese ex-colonel) put in decent performances, but the best moments come from the action sequences in which Brian and his buddies perform their sporty feats. But with the screenplay dabbling with too many issues and stereotypes, the characters are largely one-dimensional and the relationships unconvincing.