Big Wednesday (1978)
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Reviews Counted: 8
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
Release Date: Jan 4, 1978 Wide
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 5,754
My Rating
Movie Info
Jan-Michael Vincent plays a self-destructive beach bum to whom surfing is a Zen experience. We first meet Vincent in the devil-may-care 1960s, in the company of his carefree buddies William Katt and Gary Busey. The boys reunite ten years later, after one has served time in Vietnam. The beach is still there, the waves still break upon the shore, and towards the end of the film, the characters become people that we truly care about. Barbara Hale, the real-life mother of costar William Katt, makes
Jan 4, 1978 Wide
Jul 9, 2002
Warner Home Video
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Jan-Michael Vincent
Matt -
William Katt
Jack -
Gary Busey
Leroy -
Patti D'Arbanville
Sally -
Lee Purcell
Peggy Gordon -
Robert Englund
Narrator Fly -
Sam Melville
Bear -
Barbara Hale
Mrs. Barlow -
Fran Ryan
Lucy -
Reb Brown
Enforcer -
Jack Bernardi
Tailor -
Keith Davis
Ostrich -
Sasha Jenson
Surfer #5 -
Steve Kanaly
Sally's Husband -
Celia Kaye
Bride of the Bear -
Todd Lookinland
Surfer #3 -
Gerry Lopez
Himself -
Frank McRae
Sergeant -
Stephen Mendillo
Orderly -
Titus Napoleon
Chubby -
Arthur Rosenberg
Official -
Joe Spinell
Psychologist -
Michael Talbott
Hog -
Lynn Theel
Party Girl #7 -
Charlene Tilton
Party Girl #2 -
Hank Worden
Shopping Cart -
Dennis Aaberg
Slick -
Darrell Fetty
Waxer -
Gray Fredrickson
Doctor -
Perry Lang
Tall Kid -
Ollie O'Toole
Minister -
-
Yvon Arai
Boggie -
Iris Korn
Old Woman -
Rick Dano
Panhead -
-
Stacy Keach Sr.
Old Man -
-
-
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All Critics (13) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (3) | DVD (10)
Remains noteworthy as a cult film.
Ambitious in goal, John Millius' tale suffers from an inconsistent tone, trying to be elegiac, nostalgic, and mythical in depicting the impact of Vietnam and aging on a clique of three surfers between 1962 and 1974 but the acting and imagery are good.
Imparts quintessential elements of the male psyche more persuasively than Milius' other gung-ho action pictures
Audience Reviews for Big Wednesday
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Foreign Titles
- Big Wednesday - Tag der Entscheidung (DE)
- Big Wednesday (FR)
This story, which centers on three surfer friends and their experiences from early 60's to 70's, is so full of corny acting (watch out for Gary Busey and his oiled body!) and aimless moments that it just becomes boring as hell to sit through. In the final third Milius tries very hard to make this something larger than life as a film but fails miserably. The last hour and a half is just flat out boring to watch and leaves no impression of anykind.
While this might not be as disgusting as other films by Milius, it still is flawed attempt to make an cult film about surfing with macho-posing.