North Shore

Released by Universal in 1987 and directed by William Phelps, “North Shore” was as successful at bombing at the box office as it was in encapsulating an unforgettable era of neon-colored wave “shredding.”

By the end of the 1980’s, “North Shore” had not only become a culture-defining cult classic, but is the film that bridges the gap between the Spicoli-isms of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982) and the dude-laden banter of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989). However, unlike the Californian poolside and Circle K hangouts of the said films, “North Shore” is “J.O.J.” (“Just off the jet”) and on the North Shore of Oahu.

Rick Kane (Matt Adler; the fifth-wheel friend in “Teen Wolf” [1985] and the younger brother in Disney’s “Flight of the Navigator” [1986]) is Arizona’s wave tank surfing champion and decides to fulfill his big wave dreams by heading to the world-famous North Shore of Oahu to spend his pre-art school summer seeing if he has what it takes to be one of the best. Upon arriving there, not everything is as it seems: the locals are rough around the edges and everyone’s looking out for their own waves.

Just when it looks as though he’ll be figuratively stuck in a reef cave under the waters of the dangerous beaches of the North Shore, he meets an unlikely friend in Turtle (John Philbin; world-famous real-life surfing instructor). Now caught in the comedic, pigeon-talking current of a well-connected local, Rick finds himself in the company of a beautiful, off-limits Hui girl, Kiani (Nia Peeples; “Fame – TV Series”), and world-class surfboard shaper, Chandler (Gregory Harrison; “Trapper John, M.D. – TV Series”). The film’s tagline, “The Peak…The Dream…The Ultimate Test,” doesn’t lie; Rick is in for the radical challenge of mastering the waves of the North Shore and gaining the respect of Hawaii’s royal wave patrollers, the Hui.

Surfing films appear to be cursed with drowning at the box office before they even start paddling out into the line up and “North Shore” is no exception to this. Sure, surfing films like the documentary classic “The Endless Summer” (1966) and 2002’s “Blue Crush” have shown signs of buoyancy, but even those films don’t fall under the heading of “blockbuster.” In the case of “North Shore,” this hasn’t really mattered too much; it is an absolute cult classic. Nearly every serious-minded surfer from California to Fiji has probably seen this film, and its dialog--mostly uttered by Philbin’s character, Turtle--has become part of the surfing dialect (“Kook,” “Barney,” “Haole,” etc. (A haole is a non-Hawaiian white person.

On the subject of Turtle, he is a hidden gem in the annals of comedic characters from the 80’s: sort of a cross between Jeff Spicoli and--well--the real-life Turtle (more on that in trivia)! Philbin nails it and completely sells this character that, unfortunately, is only really known by fans of the film. Nearly all of the principle cast members of the film have faded into obscurity (writing on this would constitute more than a sentence or two, so check out IMDb), but many of the surfers featured in the film--Shaun Thompson, Derek Ho, Gerry Lopez, and Mark Occhilupo--are still recognized as world-renowned surfers.