A surprising choice, I'm sure. But Helen Hunt's second time behind the camera and also writing this time produced a more than satisfactory and warm dramedy. More importantly she crafted a vehicle that completely plays to her acting prowess and let's her physical beauty shine through - at 61 when she made this, she doesn't look half-bad in a one-piece, that's for sure! Not everyone is going to be a Sean Penn on the other side of the camera and even with that as an example, Mr Penn is still better in front of the camera. Hunt knows she can carry a film and chose wisely to cast herself the way she did here.
It's a simple bare-bones story about an over-protective mother who really needs to find herself and does so by learning to surf although she doesn't know that yet. Taking it from dramedy into rom-com land, she then falls in love with her surfing instructor (Luke Wilson.) Wilson is a very calming presence on-screen compared to his more famous brother but he and Hunt have great chemistry and a scene where she asks him to pee on her foot so barbs will come off her feet is at once funny, romantic, musical and sexy.
Hunt's surfing scenes are awesomely done and quite funny at times as she struggles to do it her way instead of the instructor's way. Mike White has a brief but memorable cameo as a book publisher. A great one to watch with a sibling or two, me thinks. Takes a little bit to get started but once Hunt winds up on the West Coast and in the water, the movie glides (ha ha) from there.
Streams on just about every free channel out there including Tubi. It's technically on that fine line of being a low-budget flick but I'm grading it as a regular. 3.0 stars/5
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