Ride the Wild Surf (1964)

Those who like 1960s beach movies for their camp value won't put Ride the Wild Surf high on their lists. While hardly the stuff of high drama (and while it still is, at heart, a romantic comedy), Ride is a more serious film than the Annette Funicello/Frankie Avalon offerings. For a while, this works in its favor; it's a refreshing change to watch an exploitation movie of this type that has something resembling ambition. Unfortunately, it's still a pretty silly little melodrama at heart, and the script eventually bogs down in predictable situations, bland characterizations, and banal dialogue. The stars, however, are pretty charismatic; no one gives anything close to a great performance, but they're fun to watch and all of them are quite easy on the eyes. And, while there are any number of laughably bad matte shots of the male leads "hanging ten," there is also quite a bit of sensational real surfing footage. Ride wipes out too early (and too often), but it's worth a casual viewing for those roaring waves, bikini-clad babes, and hot-dogging knaves. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide