‘North Hollywood’ Review: Vince Vaughn Goes Indie in a Skateboarder Coming-of-Age Story

There are countless different coming-of-age movies about kids who learn to blaze their own trail and become the best possible version of themselves, but “North Hollywood” is one of the rare few that actually embodies the courage of its convictions both on-screen and off.

On second thought, make that less on-screen than off.Written and directed by Mikey Alfred (a 25-year-old renaissance man whose prior accomplishments include founding the skateboard company Illegal Civ and co-producing Jonah Hill’s “Mid90s”), “North Hollywood” grinds out a familiar but knowing portrait of a scrawny California teen who’s forced to choose between the beaten path and his dream of becoming the next Tony Hawk.

Half-sketched as its drama can be, Alfred’s feature-length fiction debut is sustained by a complete lack of poser energy and a few new tweaks on some classic tricks; come for Vince Vaughn downshifting into his indie dad phase,

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