Surf's Up
Release Date: 30 July 2007
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Jon Heder, Shia LaBeouf
Details: US / 85mins (G).
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Jon Heder, Shia LaBeouf
Details: US / 85mins (G).
With March Of The Penguins, Happy Feet and Madagascar, there's something about penguins that's hot at the moment and it looks like it's going to stay that way for a while with the almost perfect Surf's Up. First time directors Brannon and Buck take Christopher Guest's ad-lib mockumentary approach to this, the Spinal Tap of the animated docu-spoof penguin surfing genre (niche enough for ya?). The story follows Cody Maverick (LaBeouf) who, after a chance meeting with legendary surfer Big Z, dedicates his life to the sport. Unfortunately Big Z died while hanging ten and Cody dreams of eclipsing his hero by winning the annual Big Z Memorial Surf Off run by crass promoter Reggie Belafonte (Woods). With ESPN's coverage of the championship, Cody gets his chance to strut his stuff in front of the cameras but pride soon turns to embarrassment when he's wiped out by boorish current champ Tank Evans (Dietrich Bader) before the competition even begins. Nursed back to health by Geek (Bridges), Cody learns that winning isn't everything - but is Geek really Big Z in hiding? Sony have surpassed last year's Happy Feet, which really raised the bar in terms of animation, with this absolute gem of a movie. Although it riffs on surfing greats like Big Wednesday, Endless Summer, Riding Giants and Into The Liquid, you don't need to have seen those movies to appreciate the jokes - and there are plenty of them in the improvised dialogue between LaBeouf, Heder and Bridges, who brings his Dudeness (or 'Duder' or 'El Duderino' if you're not into the whole brevity thing) to Big Z. Surf's Up doesn't waste a lot of time messing around with a love story, nor are there dance numbers and the characters don't sing along to classic songs - it's all story and laughs. The only disappointment is that they sometimes veer off from the mockumentary angle, and calling the movie Surf's Up without using The Beach Boys or Jim Steinman on the soundtrack. Boo.
Review by Gavin Burke
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Your Reviews...
Good - Fluffy Huny
I thought that this movie was very funny, but was a lot more child orientated than it was advertised. I took my... MORE17/11/2007 16:46:49
one for the kids !! - alix m
not- a bad one, to be honest , worth the watch , one to take the kids to see on a saturday to burn time , but overall... MORE21/09/2007 23:32:32The movie tha combines entertainment with a moral - HTI
While the characters and the fun in the the movie entertaine the childeren there is a suttle but well presented moral... MORE19/09/2007 10:20:28Very good! - Robert, Mayo
Saw the movie in the cinema in Poland in Polish, Thought it was great, Kids loved it.12/09/2007 17:33:38




