Big Wednesday is a celebration of life on the beach as seen through the eyes of three surfing buddies who only live for riding the wave. Gary Busey, Jan Michael Vincent, and William Katt, three blond California surfer types if there ever were are the three pals with a host of supporting surfing types.

The film is four vignettes over a 12 year period from 1962 to 1974 and amazing as it seems I did not hear The Beach Boys once over the soundtrack of the film. Quite an accomplishment for director John Milius in and of itself.

William Katt is a straight arrow type and and Gary Busey and Jan-Michael Vincent are screw ups to some degree. Vincent has the most interesting character, he's a surfing god when we first meet him, the idol of all, but he doesn't like the acclaim. He goes through more changes than anyone else in the film.

Barbara Hale who is William Katt's mother plays his mother her in her last big screen appearance. If she wasn't Della Street for so many years on Perry Mason she might have wound up doing Donna Reed or Barbara Billingsley or Jane Wyatt type roles. I loved her bearing up under it all demeanor while her house is being wrecked with a wild party.

Highlight of the film is the scene at the Selective Service induction center. All the young surfers try to avoid the draft, some with some truly creative ideas. William Katt actually goes to war, the other two avoid it, but Katt's not even trying.

Second highlight is the Big Wednesday of 1974 where all three try to prove they still have the right stuff for the waves. The waves were tipping on 20 feet.

Big Wednesday is a good buddy/buddy/buddy film about three guys who live for what they love, but who have to realize it's a young man's game.

It's the summer of 1962. Matt Johnson (Jan-Michael Vincent) is the ace surfer. Leroy Smith (Gary Busey) is "The Masochist". Jack Barlow (William Katt) is the fresh-faced straight arrow. These and others surf the west coast and party the nights away. In 1965, the three friends get their draft notice.

It's an interesting surf movie. It's not one of the iconic ones but it's better than most. Of the three friends, I would have thought that Leroy would be the one going off the deep end. The drama isn't that high. I expected Jack to die. In the end, the movie is left with Matt reclaiming his throne one last time. It's interesting to see the old boards. There is some poignancy in the three friends. It would be nice for the drama to be tighter.

Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary Busey chase the perfect waves in California in the 1960s and 1970s.

Despite the fact that this lead trio looks too focused, too mature, and too intelligent to spend their time doing this sort of thing -- plus they clearly spent a lot of time in the gym making sure they looked good in trunks -- this is a very watchable movie. All credit due to cinematographer Bruce Surtees. With the connivance of writer-director John Milius, he shoots the Big Wave opening in black&white, and other portions in between.... and the longstanding 'reality' of b&w and clarity of image are compelling.

Surtees began getting credits in the late 1960s on Clint Eastwood vehicles, and was the listed cinematographer on nine of Eastwood's productions. We was favored by directors of tough, masculine dramas, not only Eastwood, but Siegel and, here, Milius. His career tailed off by the early 2000s, and he died in 2012, aged 74.