Big Wednesday (1978)

Synopsis

Storyline:
Matt Johnson, Jack Barlow, and Leroy Smith are three young California surfers in the 1960s. At first reveling in the carefree life of beaches, girls, and waves, they eventually must face the fact that the world is changing, becoming more complex, less answerable by simple solutions. Ultimately the Vietnam war interrupts their idyll, leaving them to wonder if they will survive until “Big Wednesday,” the mythical day when the greatest, cleanest, most transcendent wave of all will come.
Written by
Jim Beaver <[email protected]>
User Reviews: A rite of passage film comparable to Stand By Me. The film follows the lives of three men through their late teens and twenties during the troubled period of American history that was the Vietnam war. The bond between these men is exemplified by their shared love for surfing and one another. With creative photography, Jan Michael Vincent (of Airwolf fame), Gary Busey (who makes a sneaky surfing appearance again in Point Break), and William Katt (who went on to star in such films as House) doing much of their own surfing, complemented by a professional team of surfing stunt doubles including Jerry Lopez make this one of the surfing all-time classics along-side Bruce Browns 1966 Endless Summer. Whether you’re into surfing or not, you’ll enjoy this for its story, feel good factor, and of course the surfing footage. Watch it.