Sandbar Pictures,
Helen Hunt, Luke Wilson, Brenton Thwaites, David Zayas, Callum Keith Rennie, Elizabeth Jayne
Angelo (Brention Thwaites) is a young man living in New York with a very overbearing Mom. Jackie (Helen Hunt) is Angelo’s single mom and she planning his life out for him and he’s smothering. Angelo decides to go to Los Angeles to visit his father, and while there finds a life that is loose and easy and he takes up surfing. He soon decides to cancel his enrollment for college and stay in L.A. which drives his Mom nuts. So she sneaks out to L.A. to spy on him and while there finds a lot about herself and how to let go of the ghosts that are haunting her life.
This is a film with many angles. First and foremost this is a great vehicle for Helen Hunt. She passes through a lot of emotions and challenges. Secondly, it’s a surf movie. Jackie is the kind of person who is a perfectionist and rather over confident. She’s used to succeeding but when she decides to learn to surf, she finds it quite a bit more challenging than she thought. It’s a quirky romance, as Jackie meets a surf instructor Ian (Luke Wilson) and learns to let loose a little bit. But mostly it’s a well put together little character study. Helen Hunt was really good, although it’s quite a different look and feel for her, she did an excellent job. It’s a thought provoking and moving piece of film. It’s typical indy film and has some flaws. Some of it seems dragged out quite a bit. It’s slow sometimes as well. I didn’t think this is a great movie, but it wasn’t too bad, and I did enjoy watching it. For those who like films with lots of character development and not too much action, it could be something that you might enjoy. So this is a half-hearted recommendation.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
