Surfer, Dude

Before getting into why this is a deceptively good film, let's go through a brief run down of the plot. Surfer comes home to Malibu after having been abroad for a few years. He find sout that his contract has been sold to a corporation that wants him to star in a reality show about surfing. Surfer just wants to surf and smoke pot, but all the waves disappear and he goes months without surfing. Finally he stands up to the big corporation, the waves come back, and all is right in the world.

Sounds unbearable and derivative right? Normally I would agree but the film largely succeeds as a low key affable comedy mainly due to the strength of its star Matthew McConaughy. Now I know big Mac gets a lot of crap for playing the same character in every film, and making a lot of sub par films, but you know what? I don't care. He's one of the few actors that always brings a smile to my face whenever I see him on screen (though I've made a concerted effort to avoid his romantic comedies), and he always seems like he's enjoying himself which I can appreciate. He spends the entire runtime of this film wearing the same pair of boardshorts (with the exception of the one scene where he is naked and playing a didgeridoo on his porch) and not once did I become annoyed. I think if anybody else was playing the role I would have given up halfway through but McConaughy can play the laid-back likeable stoner like nobody else. Who cares if its just the Wooderson character from Dazed and Confused, that was a great character. Adam Sandler essentially plays the same role in all his films too and he's way more annoying.

The film also has fun supporting turns by Woody Harrelson (stoned manager - granted not much of a stretch), Willie Nelson (stoned sheep farmer - ditto) and Scott Glenn (stoned former surfer now living in Mexico), which contribute to Surfer, Dude's (the comma is important) deceptively endearing vibe. Of course its not great cinema in the classical sense but I can definitely say I enjoyed watching it more than almost anything else I've seen recently (Angels and Demons I'm looking at you).