My review was written in May 1988 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.
"Under the Boardwalk", known during production as "Wipeout", is a would-be surfing epic that sinks under the weight of endless cliches. Pic should attract some teen business this summer, but its impenetrable surfer jargon and odd point of view will keep adults away.
Film limns a weekend in the life of California surfers competing for an annual prize. THe guys (and one talented femme, Gitch, played by precocious Roxana Zal) are warring amongst themselves as well, in the territorial manner of gangs.
Cornball romantic subplots have Allie (cute Danielle von Zerneck) having a crush on surf whiz Nick Rainwood (Richard Joseph Paul, a Michael Pare type), while her possessive brother Reef (Steve Monarque) objects since Nick is a Valley guy. Nick's cousin Andy (Keith Coogan) is visiting but considered a pariah due to his nerd behavior; he falls for Gitch who reciprocates.
Under the influence of his mentor Midas (Hunter von Leer), Nick ultimately sees the light and drops out of the one-to-one competition with Reef at the last wave, with Gitch predictably winning over the men. Awkward structure has Andy 20 years in the future telling the tale of Nick to fellow, younger surf nuts. The dialog is so extreme it sounds like Anthony Burgess' made-up language of the future for "A Clockwork Orange".
Director Fritz Kiersch crowds the frame with so many representatives of differing contemporary lifestyles and stereotypes (particularly in a messy nightclub scene) that it is difficult to assimilate the action, language notwithstanding. There are some good gags, particularly the casting of Sonny Bono as an ancient surfer given to waxing nostalgically about the good old days.
Biggest mistake is the inclusion of extremely rough language on the soundtrack, thereby earning an R rating. There isn't a drive-in audience alive that wouldn't trade several dozen mentions of the f-word for a couple of nude scenes, latter wholly absent from "Boardwalk".
Acting and tech credits are okay, but the surfing footage is unexciting.
