Brilliant and touching

Absolutely Fantastic

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

"With the help of a surfing guru (Gregory Harrison) and the love and support of a local girl (Nia Peeples), teenage surf champion Rick Kane (Matt Adler) conquers his fears, gains the respect of his adversaries, and discovers the real secret to mastering the powerful waves of Oahu's North Shore. Also featuring appearances by wave legends Gerry Lopez and Laird Hamilton, and World Champions Shaun Tomson, Derek Ho, and Mark Occhilupo," according to the DVD sleeve.Bland formulaic surf stuff. The Hawaiian waves outperform everyone with the notable exception of bleached blond John Philbin (as Turtle). Mr. Adler's surfing nemesis, Laird Hamilton (as Lance Burkhart), looks great in his Halloween party body paint. Mr. Harrison ages exceptionally well. And, pretty Ms. Peeples handles the romantic distaff cast practically by herself. The DVD extras are relatively generous, with "alternate ending" and "deleted scenes" that could make you wince.**** North Shore (8/14/87) William Phelps ~ Matt Adler, John Philbin, Gregory Harrison, Nia Peeples

This movie came out when I was still a young "grom", from the mainland. It's a movie about a teen named Rick Kane from Arizona, who wins a wave pool surfing contest and thinks he has what it takes to surf the power and awe of North Shore, Oahu. On Rick's journey, he meets Chandler, who's "one of the best surfboard shapers in Hawaii, possibly the world." Chandler gives Rick the idea that surfing is for the "Soul" not "Hot-dogging". This movie inspired me to be a "soul" surfer. And, now almost 20 years later, I still call "North Shore" on of my most favorite movies of all-time.

This movie is so bad, that it hilarious and has become a cult classic because of it. Let's think about the story... a boy from Arizona that wins a surfing contest in a wave pool (a few feet high) then goes to Hawaii to surf the North Shore. Have a few drinks and sit back and watch it. If you like surfing, partying and/or Hawaii, you will probably enjoy this movie.

One of the worse surfing movies I've ever seen. This movie is so bad I don't know where to begin-- Okay, let's start with the premise - some dude from the mainland who barely knows how to surf travels to Hawaii and enters a big wave contest which he more or less expects to win. A good analogy for those who don't surf would be a that of a grossly overweight chain smoker slapping on a pairs of running shoes and entering the LA Marathon with expectations of winning. No way! And, the contest is held on The North Shore which conjures up images of 15+ foot waves, but contest day the waves are maybe 6 foot. The acting? What acting? If you must see this woof see it on TV, don't waste your money renting it. If you want to see a pretty good surfing movie - granted it is flawed, but that's another story - rent Big Wednesday.