Surfer, Dude is a 2008 American comedy film directed by S.R. Bindler and starring Matthew McConaughey.

Surfer, Dude
A tree with goats sitting on the branches. A surf board and a man are leaning against the tree trunk. In the far distance is an enormous wave.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byS.R. Bindler
Written by
  • Mark Gustawes
  • George Mays
  • S.R. Bindler
  • Cory Van Dyke
Produced byGus Gustawes
Mark Gustawes
Matthew McConaughey
Starring
CinematographyElliot Davis
Edited byNancy Richardson
Music byBlake Neely
Production
company
Distributed byAnchor Bay Entertainment (US)
Odeon (Greece)
Release date
  • September 5, 2008 (2008-09-05)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million
Box office$52,132

Woody Harrelson claims the film is the most "non-work" he has ever done.[1] McConaughey and Harrelson, who previously appeared together in EDtv, later co-starred in HBO's True Detective.

Premise

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

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Soundtrack

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  • "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

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The film was critically panned upon release.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with 18 reviews, the film has a approval rating of 0%. At Metacritic the film has an average score of 16 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics.[2]

Michael Ordona of the Los Angeles Times 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."[3] Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter dismissed it as "[A] lackluster vanity production."[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Matthew surfs His Life and Loved Ones Over to Austin". PopSugar. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Surfer, Dude". Metacritic. CBS Interactive.
  3. ^ Ordona, Michael (12 September 2008). "It's beach blanket boredom". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  4. ^ Stephen Farber (September 8, 2008). "Surfer Dude". The Hollywood Reporter.
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