Very well executed

Such a frustrating disappointment

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie is not very credible, the surfing (few) clips are just OK.In the movie everything is just OK.If someone is to do a movie just to be OK i believe that there are others of expression that are better suited. An article on a magazine, a Youtube.What i believe is that there are surfers out there that are land locked like myself and it is through these movies that we allow our minds return to the liquid.Bias? Sure. After all surf is something that you feel and you can't explain. I can tell you that i didn't feel it at all here.Now that you have understood where i'm coming from, allow me to explain what are the other issues: 1 - the people that actually surf are really NOT the actors 2 - the actors are NOT actors.... really 3 - the idea that surf is a wood panel door truck is to cliché'Maybe it would work for TV. In a movie is very painful.

I enjoyed this movie and yes, I'm a real surfer who is widely known in the surfing world. I'm not a movie critic and really don't care that there some minor mistakes, the theme itself made up for the problems. This film reminded me of many trips, surf sessions, and other things we used to do. I still drive groms to the beach, give them hints, help them along, and yes I've even given a few boards away. Don't think it doesn't happen as it happens all the time. Ask Chuck Linnen about how many groms he's taken under his wing over the years. Some became US and even world champions.Some may find fault with how surfers bargain for boards in the movie. Sorry but Dick Dale reminded me of my mentor Dale Velzy selling boards in Huntington Beach back in the early 60s.

"Local Boys" gets many of the technical aspects right (the way that surfers flip their boards over, wax-side-down, when they first get into the water in order to cool the side that has heated up on the trip down, for instance) but fails in the important areas: character and story.This tale uses a movie-version Southern California surfing culture backdrop for an uninspiring, uncompelling family drama that shortchanges all its main characters. Here we have the 40-ish widowed mom who, after her knight (cop) husband is killed in the line of duty, picks the worst possible men to begin seeing. Why is never explained. We also have her angry young teen son trying to be the man of the family by flaring his nostrils constantly, shouting a lot and finally breaking down in the arms of the surf Obi-Wan (a long board riding "soul surfer" father figure) who teaches the young Jedi to trust his feelings.Thrown in for further pathos is the emotionally disturbed younger brother who, with his anxiety disorder, really ought to be in professional counseling. There is also an attempt at shoehorning a bit of that "Big Wednesday" vibe in by having our boys hang out with a lovable crew of pot smoking losers. If you don't believe that "Big Wednesday" was an influence on this film, check out the Bear Surfboards shirt Mark Harmon wears towards the end of the film.There is a long-neglected subplot of seeking revenge against a group of locals ("Da Cleanup Crew" who, strangely enough for SoCal, seem to be Hawaiians) that pops up at the beginning and again at the end, resolved by our heroes with some good natured grand theft auto and impersonation of lifeguards.Just so we know the tasty male blonde lead is not gay, there is an utterly forced romantic subplot thrown in. Why neither of the attractive halves of this couple is single is ever touched on, allowing a movie-convenient love story to develop. Well, develop isn't the right word. Perhaps "spontaneously appear" is a better turn of phrase.How mom affords the nice house where the splintered family resides is also not apparent. In fact, there are so many questions raised about money and how our main characters come by it that it begins to feel as fake as "Friends" by the end.This is a real waste of resources, from the awful score to the decent-by-So-Cal-standards-but-not-amazing-by-Hawaii-standards surfing. For the same amount of money and time invested in this dud, a much better story could have been told utilizing the same elements.There have been several surf movies released in the last few years: some good ("Blue Crush", "Step Into Liquid"), some not ("Billabong Odyssey", "In God's Hands"). "Local Boys" very seriously resides in the latter category.

Every minute is important in this movie! Hit the pause button when you need to go to the bathroom, because every moment counts here! Of course there is a lot of cool surfing action, but that is not all this movie is about! It is about family, emotion and standing up for what is right! If you like "Searching For Bobby Fischer" you should like this one as well! Not to mention (or should I??)--> The sound track is perfect!