Vinegar Syndrome Cuts Marathon #7

Surf II (1983)

(6/10): Surf II is a parody of many of the teen sports/sex comedies that were popular at the time of its release but it didn't really hit its mark too well and has since been dubbed a cult classic.

It follows a group of teenagers who are big on surfing and how this new "Buzz Cola" is affecting the youth as it leads up to the local surfing competition. We find that this cola is causing the teens to become more aggressive,primal & overall stupid and it's being sold by our two lead characters fathers but really is being supplied to them by a vengeful nerd who had his cola laced with something that ruined his future goals.

It's a comedy straight up but I do really wish I found it more funny as it's clear that they put a lot of effort into it in every other aspect.

First, the soundtrack is great, lots of tunes to bop along to that fit the theme of the movie perfectly and it has a lot of Beach Boys.

The sets are great, specifically the lab where the nerd works as it's filled with tons of crazy, colourful and wacky contraptions that fit the over exaggerated tone very well and provides a good contrast to the more ordinary look of everything outside of the lab.

Finally the costumes are pretty damn good, again I point out in specific but this time with the surfer punks as they look like they came out of a Misfits concert all in black leather with facepaint and big hair with tears in their clothes, it looks great.

I also noticed something that a lot of 2000s kids would notice if they ever watch this, the vengeful nerd or Menlo Schwartzer as he is called is played by the same guy who voiced the Know-It-All in The Polar Express, yeah that surprised me.

However, again the biggest fault is that for a comedy, I just didn't find it all too funny, there's some moments that get me even one laugh out loud moment but it mostly just didn't work for me. I do gotta give it credit for the rest of the attributes that went into it as I was very impressed with those.

Take this with a grain of salt because I heard that this one is a divisive entry into the VS catalog as some love it and some find it boring.