Back to trending
Big Wednesday

Big Wednesday

Drama · Comedy · 1978

Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.

Movie details

Big Wednesday

“A day will come that is like no other... and nothing that happens after will ever be the same.”

1978 Drama · Comedy 2h 0m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Big Wednesday?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Radio Days

Radio Days

Comedy · 1987

The Narrator tells us how the radio influenced his childhood in the days before TV. In the New York City of the late 1930s to the New Year's Eve 1944, this coming-of-age tale mixes the narrator's experiences with contemporary anecdotes and urban legends of the radio stars.

American Graffiti

American Graffiti

Comedy · 1973

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

Half Brothers

Half Brothers

Comedy · 2020

Mexican aviation exec Renato is shocked to learn that he has an American half-brother he never knew about: free-spirited Asher. They are forced on a road trip together, tracing the path their father took from Mexico to the U.S.

Hair

Hair

Music · 1979

Upon receiving his draft notice and leaving his family ranch in Oklahoma, Claude heads to New York and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to boot camp.

Beaches

Beaches

Comedy · 1988

A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.

White Men Can't Jump

White Men Can't Jump

Comedy · 1992

Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.

The Great Santini

The Great Santini

Drama · 1979

As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.

Chasing Mavericks

Chasing Mavericks

Drama · 2012

Surfer Jay Moriarity sets out to ride the Northern California break known as Mavericks.

Radio Flyer

Radio Flyer

Drama · 1992

A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the "Radio Flyer", into a plane to fly him to safety.

Paper Man

Paper Man

Comedy · 2009

A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and his imaginary Superhero friend.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Milius

Written by

Dennis Aaberg · John Milius

Jan-Michael Vincent

Jan-Michael Vincent

Matt Johnson

William Katt

William Katt

Jack Barlow

Gary Busey

Gary Busey

Leroy "The Masochist" Smith

Patti D'Arbanville

Patti D'Arbanville

Sally

Lee Purcell

Lee Purcell

Peggy Gordon

Sam Melville

Sam Melville

"Bear"

Reb Brown

Reb Brown

"Enforcer"

Court is in session

Put Big Wednesday on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.