Surf II

I picked up this movie mainly out of curiosity. The front of the box looked interesting and the back only featured a long list of bands whose music is used in the movie; no mention of actors or plot summary. In many ways, it's a very typical 80's party movie seeing as it features:

i) a weak plot- this is the strange thing about a lot of 80's movies. The plot is so weird it totally blows any chance of the movie focusing on character development or virtually any other element. This particular movie is about a nerd (played beautifully by Eddie Deezen) who is trying to get revenge on surfers because they spiked his cola back in high school. His plan is a new drink, "Buzz Cola" that is designed to turn its drinkers into punk rock zombies.

ii) formula characters- another great feature of 80's movies. You've got suffer dudes, loose girlfriends, a fat guy famous for his eating ability, an evil genius nerd, zombies who look like George Michael from his leather days; etc. Deezen is probably the best cast of the bunch.

iii) female frontal nudity- show me an 80's movie without T&A and I'll... well, I don't know what I'd do, I doubt such a movie exists. It isn't exactly gratuitous here so don't expect a softcore porn fest.

iv) gross outs- from eating contests involving engine parts and dead fish, to an autopsy and a sandwich filled with "special" sauce.

All that being said, this movie is a lot of fun. It's a good movie to put on at a party because I'm sure alcohol would only add to its appeal. If you get a chance to cheaply rent it or buy it, it's no worse than a lot of other movies made around the same time. Give it a whirl.

I can't understand why those of you here that poo-poo "Surf II" DO poo-poo "Surf II". I saw it on HBO in the mid '80's shortly after it came out. I've ALWAYS thought it was a BRILLIANT movie! Very funny! And more stars than you can shake a stick at.

Most of the bad comments here tend to focus on all sorts of technical stuff and it detracts from the fun of the movie. Just sit back and watch the damn thing! Stop nitpicking! It's not SUPPOSED to be "Gone With The Wind". One of you said, "turn off your brain and enjoy!", (or something like that). I think you should turn ON your brain. There are so many "hidden" references and jokes in this it makes it fun to watch every time you see it, because you catch on to things you missed the previous viewing. The same thing happens to me everytime I watch The Monkees' film, "Head", or Patrick McGoohan's t.v. show, "The Prisoner", or when I listen to a Firesign Theatre record. It makes the movie fresh everytime you watch it.

There IS a plot line and the movie DOESN'T fizzle towards the end. For me, it's right up there with movies like, "Back To The Beach", "Hardware Wars", "Airplane" and the other Zucker Brothers/Kentucky Fried Theatre movies.

One of my fave scenes in "Surf II" is the garbage eating contest between Johnny Bighead and one of the punk zombies. That, and Johnny taking a chainsaw to the roof of a pink Cadillac as his mother, Mrs. Bighead, asks, "Johnny, which car are you taking?" Johnny says, "The convertible." Mrs. Bighead, still in her bathrobe and curlers, steps outside and says, "What convertible??!!", as Johnny and throws his brother, Little Bighead, into the back seat and drives off to the beach, "Bau Bau!!".

Contrary to what one reviewer here said, there was only one or two shots of naked breasts. Neither shot lasted more than a few seconds.

What got me interested in seeing the film in the first place was when Carol Wayne (who died shortly after the film was made) was a guest on the Tonight Show plugging the movie and said to Johnny Carson, "'Surf II' is the third part of a trilogy to which there is no first part". Aha! A Lewis Carroll style advertisement! Twisted logic! My favourite kind! (-;

So, please, kids, go see this movie if you EVER have the chance, and would somebody PLEASE release it on video or DVD already???? I've been looking for a copy ever since I first saw it on HBO. So far, all I've been able to get is a video someone copied for me from HBO 18 years ago, but it has lots of t.v. ghosts all through it (he was picking up signals from other channels at the same time), so it's almost unwatchable, especially during the night or dark scenes. )-:

Enjoy!! Oh, and Ron Palillo played the part of Inspector Underwear, not "Lt. Underwear".

On behalf of the previous comment I must state-that I can only wish I was fortunate enough to see this film in theaters when it opened in 84, being that i was only 5 at the time, and don't believe it played in the 'god forsaken South, at least not in Arkansas. I'm sure it wasn't a possibility for my viewing pleasure.

Guess what, I hate big budget films, save the Bond epics, and I love B movies, mostly the ones from the 80's- if you want a hardcore piece of hilarity this film is it.

By the by, Eddie Deezen is a geek Hero if they're ever was one, and I rather liked Eric Stolts as a surfer dude. Last but not least a totally radical soundtrack. Stray Cats, Oingo Boingo, and the Circle Jerks all on one album-this rules!

One of the most underrated sleepers to come out of the 1980's involves a plot by Menlo Schwartzer (played by Eddie Deezen) to feed Buzz® Cola (a potent new beverage) to all the surfers and turn them into garbage-consuming zombies.

I'd rather not give away the whole awesome story, but it's pretty clever, a one-of-a-kind gross-out comedy with an excellent new wave/punk rock soundtrack. With some veteran favorites like Ruth Buzzi and Cleavon Little.

When this came out, the world was not quite ready for such a strange and wacky picture. That's rather unfortunate, as most of the people that would have appreciated it probably never will get to see it. It's far too wonderfully appalling to be shown on TV. Go figure.

Ahh, to be back in Cali. Yes, I worked at a surf shop in Newport Beach. Yes, I went to Oingo Boingo concerts. AND HECK YES! I paid CASH, MEAN GREEN, to see this film in the theater when it came out (23 years ago folks).

One of the best/worst films EVER made. I managed to track down a rental copy whilst I was marooned in Minneapolis (for work, ugh) one fateful evening, still as awfully wonderful as ever (the film that is, not Minneapolis).

If you get a chance to see this trash-terpiece, by all means, do it, dude.