Big Wednesday (1978)--3/5

Before the days of computer effects, filmmakers either wowed with practical solutions or embarrassed with hokey overreaching. Though it’s got both in equal measure, “Big Wednesday” manages to precariously succeed. The gauzy sentimentality of the film excuses the limitations of the surfing footage. Plus, a young Gary Busey plays a crazy person. Radical!

Director John Milius intercuts close-ups of the principal actors surfing admirably with long shots of almost-look-alikes tearing up the waves. The film requires no terribly substantial acting skills. Still, for a character piece like “Big Wednesday,” surfers who can kind-of act aren’t the same as actors who can kind-of surf. Anyway, part of the fun—in this and in other effects-heavy pre-CGI movies—is figuring out the logistics that went into the (hopefully) seamless whole. In addition to the traditional shots of surfers, Milius incorporates claustrophobic on-the-board footage from IMAX auteur Greg MacGillivray.

The three types of shots cohere well enough to create the desired surfing meditation. Until the action-ish end of “Big Wednesday,” the film shares a kinship with “Paranoid Park.” Surfing—in “Park’s” case, skateboarding—is a way of life, not a cynical plot device. In movies like this, surfing always comes off as a bit more mystical, zen-like, and pretentious than the common art of skateboarding. See also: “Point Break,” or “Tapping the Source” versus “Wassup Rockers.”

Vietnam brings an abrupt and symbolic halt to surfing and lolling on the beach. Busey’s plan—one of many concocted by the surfers—is to dress in homeless rags, pour wine on his head, and shout non-sequiters. Essentially, he turns into “Gary Busey,” the memorably unhinged “Entourage” guest star. Anybody who’s seen “Entourage” knows this is worth checking out.