Zuma Beach

Hi people. Hey, this movie came out when I was about 21 and I remember feeling about the same way everyone did in this movie. I was in Los Angeles (Hermosa Beach-Hi Terry) and was unsure of myself as were most of the people in this cute movie. O.k, it lacks critical substance and Ms. Sommers seems to glide throughout the movie like her acting is similar to her character of not knowing what is up with her life. But, hey, who hasn't been there, done that, and wondered where there next step in life should be or as in the proverbial saying from my brother in law, Nick, if 'if's and but's were candy and nuts, oh what a wonderful Christmas we would all have. This simply means just watch the movie and quit trying to blame yourselfs for everything in life you did right or wrong which is what all of the characters are trying to cope with here. It is a good movie and a clean one from the long gone year of 1978 and will always remain true to my heart since I live in a land commonly now hated by the Dixie Chicks called Lubbock Texas.... Hey, you all, watch it on a late evening channel and enjoy!!!!!!!

It is true that there are a lot of beautiful people in bathing suits in this movie. While this is not necessarily a bad thing it probably has distracted some people from the wonderful character development throughout this film. The dialog is clever and the scene's flow evenly from one to another. It has always amazed me that so much is happening in just one afternoon on a beach in California. Watch it with an open mind. Enjoy the beautiful scenery and magnificent bodies but also revel in the simple story of changing lives. This is a pleasant easy going movie, no bad language, nudity or serious violence.

This was made for TV and cannot be bought but it shows up every so often on cable.

10 is a really high number to put on a movie. I look at films and if there is nothing that I would change then it should have a 10. This is rating the movie on itself and not ranking it in comparison other movies. Of the 1000 or so movies that I have seen I would rank this one around 985+. I cannot readily think of 15 movies that I thought were better. Movies that I would watch multiple times rank highest. I have seen this one at least 6 times and will watch it again

Suzanne Somers was 30 years-old playing a fading rock singer who goes to a beach in Malibu to find inspiration amidst the youths, mostly high school kids. It's a fun drama that addresses some heavy things amidst the frolics rather than a goofy beach party flick, like those from the '60s. Speaking of which, people forget that the originator of the "beach party film" genre was 1959's "Gidget" (the movie with Sandra Dee, not the TV series with Sally Field), which was a beach drama with moving depth and not zany at all.

So, this is more along the lines of the 1959 version of "Gidget," just mixed with the '70's vibe of Sam Elliott's "Lifeguard" from 1976. It's basically a TV version of "California Dreaming," which debuted seven months later. While it's the least of these due to being a television production, it has its points of interest. For one, viewing it makes you feel like you've spent the afternoon at a beach in SoCal.

Whilst Suzanne never looked better, she never tripped my trigger. I prefer voluptuous blonde Kimberly Beck, who plays Cathy. Other familiar faces in their youth include Mark Wheeler, Michael Biehn, Rosanna Arquette, Tanya Roberts and PJ Soles. Janus Blythe is listed in the credits as Jennifer, but the role is so peripheral that I missed her. You might remember her as the feral Ruby in "The Hills Have Eyes" and Lynette in "Eaten Alive."

It runs about 1h 40m and was shot at Paradise Cove, which is 2.5 miles east of the actual Zuma Beach, on the other side of Point Dume, which you can see in the background. Point Dume happened to be where the iconic climax of "Planet of the Apes" was shot.

GRADE: B-/C+

Suzanne Somers stars as a fading rock singer that after lots of problems in the record studio decides to go away from it all and goes to Zuma beach. Once there she spends few days there and gets involved with the lives of the many youths that live there.

This made for TV movie looked a bit monotonous especially after 1 hour and the plot was paper thin. However, it had a nice soundtrack and concept and some appearences by future stars such as Rosanna Arquette, Timothy Hutton and Michael Biehn. Not horrible, just ok.

Pop singer in Los Angeles is told the record business has forgotten her--she had a hit single two years ago, but her last album lost money. She responds to this rejection by driving to the beach--her childhood sanctuary--to play in the sand and flirt with the impressionable 18-year-olds. History repeating itself: a sun-kissed 1970s update of the beach party genre, which hadn't been in vogue since the mid-'60s. Although written by John Carpenter (in his salad days) and William Schwartz, from a treatment by John Herman Shaner and Alvin Ramrus, this TV-movie has sunshine and wet sand to spare but doesn't have the canny lingo of hormone-crazed teenagers down right. Suzanne Somers, still riding high with "Three's Company", shows polish in the lead, but the younger players are hit-and-miss. Rosanna Arquette needs help rolling a joint, P.J. Soles is tired of playing volleyball, Timothy Hutton is training to be a lifeguard, Michael Biehn (as "J.D.") ruins Suzanne's sandcastle, and Tanya Roberts (with a belly-chain) is a knockout pretending to be just another dateless chick in the crowd. Not credible for one instant, and embarrassing when it tries for seriousness, but at least the scenarists keep it relatively clean. These kids want romance! How's that for a beach come-on?