From left to right: Oh wow, man, unreal. / Hey bud, let’s party. / Back off, Warchild. Seriously.
Everyone loves a good surf flick. Not just that typical surf porn, either. I mean a good Hollywood movie that has, it seems, no in between. It’s either wonderful or awful, and usually leaning closer to the latter. Surf movies are as much for me about the characters that represent the surfers than the plot or the waves, which are, for the most part, non-existent. So here are the five most ridiculously Awesome surf movie characters. And, of course, feel free to add your own suggestions at the bottom.
1. Spicoli/Sean Penn –
Of course Jeff Spiccoli’s on here. He’s a big part of the reason surfers have the rep that we do. As much as people gripe about being depicted in a “Spicoli-light,” you can’t deny his role in surf culture. Fast Times at Ridgemont High defined a generation. Sean Penn’s portrayal of the first notable surfer-stoner on the silver screen got him a lot more than “some tasty waves and a cool buzz.”
2. Robert August/Robert August –
Sure, he didn’t play a character. He played himself in The Endless Summer. But playing yourself in the movie that gave rise to the entire culture that surrounds the traveling surfer? Not too shabby, Robert. And in a world where surf movies (apart from a select few) are just plain bad, The Endless Summer was selected by the National Film Registry Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Try saying that about In God’s Hands with a straight face.
3. Turtle/John Philbin–
Turtle, a.k.a. John Philbin, has become, in my mind at least, the Spicoli of the late ’80s/’90s. The pidgin-speaking white guy star of North Shore, one of the world’s best/worst surf movies, Turtle acted his way into being one of the most-quoted characters in all of surf-moviedom. The character Philbin played was based on a real person, Brian King, who lives on the North Shore. He shapes surfboards, goes by the nickname Turtle, and probably spends a lot of time explaining that Turtle was named after him, and not the other way around. Interestingly enough, John Philbin also played the robber in the Jimmy Carter mask in Point Break, which is a pretty damn fantastic shitty surf movie in its own right.
4. Bodhi/Patrick Swayze –
“That’s Bodhi. He’s a real searcher.”
“What’s he searching for?”
“The ride. The ultimate ride.”
Damn right he’s searching for the ride. From jumping out of planes and pulling his ‘chute ten feet from the ground to blowing up cars with gasoline, Patrick Swayze plays what, in my opinion, is his best role in ever Point Break. When Swayze died, it wasn’t Ghost or Road House that I thought of, it was that scene near the end of Point Break where Bodhi and Rosy are driving away from a busted-kneed Keanu lying in the dust. Money and Swayze’s hair flutter around them. That was the swan song I played for him when I heard the news of his death. And it was a great swan song.
5. Crush/Andrew Stanton –
Finding Nemo is not a surfing movie. But in terms of reach, a lot more people watched it than Point Break or North Shore. And although it’s not a surfing movie, Crush, that lovable green sea turtle is most definitely a surfer. He’s the best example of Spicoli’s footprint on the surfer image in today’s entertainment industry. Voiced by Andrew Stanton, Crush seems like a weird fusion of Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Jeff Spicoli.
