Windrider

Now that Nicole Kidman is a full fledged international star her early films have become accessible to her fans. I love her early work; her brash and spunky Aussie attitude gives this tall perfect beauty an edge. Here she plays a music video queen who is courted by a business executive who's passion is windsurfing. The script has elements of "Flashdance," "Cocktail," and other films that could have only been made in the eighties. Though the action scenes are clumsy (and boring) and the comedy sometimes juvenile, as a romantic date movie it delivers. The relationship between Kidman and Burlinson (who look like Barbie and Ken) is cute and their romance innocent (Burlinson shows up to a late night music session courting Kidman with tuxedo and flowers). Both are perfectly cast and believable in their roles. Kidman gives a wonderful performance and looks as gorgeous as Australia itself. Brief nudity and mild language. If you like windsurfing, Nicole Kidman, and a wholesome romance you've found the right film.

"Windrider" is a movie that's quite hard to find nowadays. It's never been released on DVD, and it didn't sell that many VHS copies when it was released on that format years ago. This is despite the fact that one of its stars is a pre-famous Nicole Kidman. There's extra interest for some fans of Kidman since in this movie she takes off her clothes a couple of times. But does the rest of the movie have anything good to offer? Well, it's nicely photographed, and the windsurfing sequences are energetic. There is also a nice musical score. But the movie is ultimately forgettable. It's never really BAD, but you will have seen the characters and the various plot turns in many other movies before, resulting in the movie having no surprises at all. Best watched as a background movie when you are busy with some activity at home.

This is a surprisingly good film, bearing in mind it was probably made on a miniscule budget. What's unforgettable about it is a 19-year old Nicole Kidman as a sassy rock singer in a red leather jacket and slit skirt (as well as in the nude for about 5 scenes - all too brief). There's more than a hint of the famous actor she was about to become, with some feisty dialogue and a totally believable intensity in her relationship with her screen boyfriend. It's a pity that the credits reveal her 'singing' was dubbed by someone else, as Moulin Rouge showed she was quite capable of doing it herself. Oh, and if you like windsurfing, or huge waves crashing on Australian beaches, you'll also like the film for those reasons, and it's even got quite a good storyline with tension rising towards the end. The scriptwriter's attempts at humour - and the briefly-glimpsed plastic shark - are a bit embarrassing though!

1. Interesting to see Nicole in her first leading role. 2. Nicole's nudity .... my gosh, she is very small

It was good. I don't usually write reviews for films with very low user ratings (by that I mean how many people rated, not the score itself), but I thought this movie deserves a good rating. I'm surprised it isn't more popular - it really feels like a classic, enjoyable type of movie. It's not great, but it's definitely good, and I'd recommend it.

The one thing I didn't like was Nicole Kidman's Australian accent. It honestly felt more like she was doing an impression of an Aussie accent rather than speaking naturally. Other than that, it's a good, enjoyable film that deserves more attention.