I re della spiaggia

C. Thomas Howell and Courtney Thorne-Smith are the only two in the cast that really display any acting talent, but the parts are so poorly written that even they have trouble. The real focus of anybody watching this movie shouldn't be the plot (it's terrible) or the acting (equally bad), and god forbid that you try to follow the poorly-thought-out dialogue...the real focus of the movie is beach volleyball. The addition of such high-caliber players as Smith, Stoklos, Dodd, and Steffes saves this movie. I thoroughly enjoyed watching such incredible players, even though the games were scripted.

Anyone think Kiraly will show up in Side Out 2?

This is one of the truly great volleyball movies of all time. Not that I can think of any other volleyball movies that were released. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it when I first saw it. Remember, this came out in 1990, so of course it may not be up to par with todays standards of movies, but the same could be said about the original Star Wars trilogy. This movie is what got me into volleyball back in the day (my high school years). I'd recommend it to anyone. In fact, it comes out on DVD in early July. It's at least worth the rent! I'd give it 9 out of 10 stars.

"Monroe Clark" (C. Thomas Howell) is flying out to Los Angeles to work during the summer for his wealthy "Uncle Max" (Terry Kiser), who happens to be a real estate lawyer. Monroe's first job is to serve eviction notices to those who cannot pay their rent. In the process of serving a notice on a famous beach volleyball player named "Zack Barnes" (Peter Horton), he also meets an attractive cocktail waitress by the name of "Samantha" (Courtney Thorne-Smith). One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, another person named "Wiley Hunter" (Christopher Rydell) convinces him to team up with him in a beach volleyball competition. And then things begin to get interesting. Anyway, for a beach movie, this wasn't too bad. Although the plot was somewhat routine and the acting was barely adequate, the thing that kept this movie entertaining was the fast-paced sports action and some nice-looking ladies, including Harley Jane Kozak (as "Kate Jacobs"), Kathy Ireland ("Marie"), and the aforementioned Courtney Thorne-Smith. Again, it's a beach movie, so one shouldn't expect too much from it. I rate it as average.

I remembered liking this back in '90 when I was 11 or 12 years old. However when I decided to watch Side Out's showing on Showtime yesterday, I did so believing that it would be awful just like the vast majority of shows from that time period that I once enjoyed. This movie surprised me though... it was funny (in a good way) and pretty well shot and well acted. You actually WANT success for Horton and Howell's characters. The women in this movie are gorgeous as well. Courtney Thorne-Smith looked hotter than ever in this (before the god awful Melrose Place)and Kathy Ireland was a pleasant surprise as part of Max's legal team. If it weren't for the horrendous soundtrack (B-52's "Roam" during a friggin' bar brawl?) I'd have given it a 7.5. Only a small gripe so I give it a 7 instead.

This underrated 90s movie may be a normal sports film, but it's entertaining and it has heart. Unique in that it's one of the few (if there are even any others) films about beach volleyball, that alone makes it worth watching. It's like if Top Gun (1986) and The Karate Kid - Per vincere domani (1984) had a baby, and volleyball threw up on it.

The performances are all good enough for this kind of movie. C . Thomas Howell is ok, though he's a little annoying, but Peter Horton is good. Another cool aspect of the movie is that a lot of the other volleyball players featured in the movie are actually real beach volleyball players.

Another weird thing is that the movie is painfully 80s. Even though it's made in the 90s, a lot of the clothing and score have serious 80s vibes, and this is probably the most 80s movie of the 90s. The soundtrack is cool, with songs like "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, and even some songs by the B-52s.

Overall, it's another sports movie, but it's entertaining, and it's about volleyball. You could do a lot worse.