''Surfer, Dude'' is a 2008 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by S.R. Bindler and starring

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

claims the film is the most "non-work" he has ever done. McConaughey and Harrelson, who previously appeared together in ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film '' Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrels ...

'', later co-starred in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

''.

Premise

''Surfer, Dude'' is the story of Steve Addington, a soul-searching surfer who experiences an

existential crisis Existential crises are inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning and confusion about one's personal identity. They are accompanied by anxiety and stress, often to such a degree that they disturb one's normal funct ...

when no waves come for over a month. While the waves are not arriving, producers are trying to get him to join a reality show. He refuses joining the show because his main focus is surfing and he keeps searching for the waves along the coast of California. The waves end up coming back a month later.

Cast

as Steve Addington * Alexie Gilmore as Danni Martin *

Scott Glenn Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26 between 1938 and 1942) is an American actor. His roles have included Bill Lester in '' She Came to the Valley'' (1979), Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in '' Urban Cowboy'' (1980), as ...

as Alister Greenbough * Jeffrey Nordling as Eddie Zarno * Nathan Phillips as Baker Smith *

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

as Farmer Bob *

as Jack Mayweather * Zachary Knighton as Brillo Murphy * Ramón Rodríguez as Lupe La Rosa *

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

as Mercer Martin * Sarah Wright as Stacey * Todd Stashwick as Vic Hayes *

Travis Fimmel Travis Fimmel (born 15 July 1979) is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as Ragnar Lothbrok in the History Channel television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2017). He also starred in HBO science fiction series' '' Raised by Wolves'' as M ...

as Johnny Doran * K. D. Aubert as April May * Malena Maestas as Jack Mayweather’s Daughter * Anaisa Maestas as Jack Mayweather’s Daughter

Soundtrack

* "Star-Spangled Banner" – Performed by Matthew McConaughey and Blake Neely * "Mother" – Xavier Rudd * "Chasing the Dream" – Daniel Heath * "Thump It" – Daniel Heath * "Too Far Away" – Potent * "This Is My Life" – Psideralica * "Este Amor" (carnival version) – Bermudez Triangle * "The High" – Deep Sonic * "No Pants Required" – Nekal B. * "Too Tired to Quit" – Nekal B. * "Hip Hop Misfits" – The Dirty Heads * "Coastline Journey" – Mishka * "Virgin Lust" – Higore * "Run and Play" – Potent * "Come Let Go" – Xavier Rudd * "Fuk It" – Xavier Rudd * "3rd Eye Vision" – Mishka

Reception

The film was critically panned upon release. On

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website

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, with reviews, the film has a approval rating of . At

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the film has an average score of 16 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics. Michael Ordona of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' stated that "The film is awash in doobies and breasts, clichéd cinematic language and clumsy exposition. It's reminiscent of the stoner-culture movies of the late '60s and early '70s but without the naive fun." Stephen Farber of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' dismissed it as " lackluster vanity production."

References

External links

Official site
* * * * 2008 films 2008 comedy films American independent films American comedy films Films scored by Blake Neely Playtone films American surfing films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-US-film-stub