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As Good As It Gets

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Though Bruce Brown had been making films about surfing since the 1950s, his 1966 feature, "The Endless Summer", was his first film to receive a nationwide release. It is regarded as a classic of the "surfing genre".A quasi-documentary, "The Endless Summer" watches as two surfing buddies (Robert August and Mike Hynson) decide to "follow summer" around the globe. With just their surfboards, some cash and a few spare clothes, they hop aboard a plane and embark upon their quest. This journey takes them from Hawaii to Africa to Australia to Tahiti to America, each location offering an opportunity to mingle with locals, admire coastlines and ride waves."The Endless Summer" captures a very specific zeitgeist: a seemingly carefree time, untroubled, each day wrapped in a cocoon and so untouched by the outside world. The film's bohemian gait is contradicted by its pseudo-fascist aesthetic, which glorifies flesh, white bodies, holds an unconsciously racist attitude, and stresses a Man vs Nauture dichotomy in which the surfer exists solely to test himself, his limits, and assert himself over a roiling cosmos. Surfing, then, becomes a hermetic arena of self-mastery. It is not just an art-form, but an aesthetic and ascetic life choice. No surprise, then, that this film would influence uber-right winger John Milius (himself a Malibu surfer), and the Zen-fascism of his own surf classic, "The Big Wednesday".7/10 – Worth one viewing. See the excellent "Lifeguard" (1976).

Being something of a surfing enthusiast, myself, in my younger days (I've surfed in both Australia and Hawaii), The Endless Summer certainly turned out to be a very entertaining and enjoyable documentary, highlighting the thrills and excitement of this tres' exhilarating sport.From sunny Malibu Beach, California, to the uncharted waters of West Africa, to the shark-filled seas of Australia, to the tropical paradises of Tahiti and Hawaii, 2 young, American surfers accomplish in a few months what most people never do in a lifetime - They live their dream. And that dream for Mike and Robert is to find and ride the perfect wave.The Endless Summer is an imaginatively photographed travelogue, from the absolute height of surfing-mania in the mid-1960s, that thoughtfully captures the joy, danger and humor of searching the world for that ultimate, most perfect wave of all.Director Bruce Brown's whimsical narration in The Endless Summer gives the whole production a very comfortable, easy-going feeling that greatly contributes to its overall charm and appeal.

I watched this wonderful film for the first time since first seeing it in 1966 in a tiny theater, hosted by Bruce Brown himself, who I consider the "Godfather" of the entire surf film genre. I don't know how many kids like me he turned on to the wonderful sport of surfing, but I know it was a lot. I was saddened to her that the co-star Mike Hynson had fallen on hard times in the ensuing years, but he's "back from the dead" and making his own custom surfboards I'm told. Surfing has the miraculous ability to heal, and I think it must have healed him. In my sixties now, I long for those years I spend surfing the California coast, and seeing this gem again made those long-forgotten memories come back like a returning faith. God bless you, Bruce Brown!

I recently saw this movie for the first time. I must admit I hadn't heard of it until I saw the poster at a local taco place. I'm usually not one for surfing movies, but I fell in love with it. It was refreshing to watch a documentary that was so well done, and without the use of special effects. Just a basic film camera and a couple of guys surfing the world. Bruce Brown's narration was spectacular, and the surfing was amazing.I think the best part was that the surfing was real. It wasn't done on a set with some green screen behind it. The people were actually out there on the waves.I will definitely watch this movie again.