Big Wednesday

Big Wednesday follows three friends who grow up surfing the California coast in the 1960s. Matt, Jack and Leroy share a love of the waves but differ sharply in temperament, and over roughly a decade their lives pull them in separate directions: military service, marriage, work and drinking all take their toll, while a younger generation of surfers overtakes them in skill. The three eventually come back together at their old beach for a fabled day of unusually large waves, where they test themselves one more time against the ocean that shaped them.

John Milius directed and co-wrote the film with Dennis Aaberg, and it was his third feature after Dillinger and The Wind and the Lion. Jan-Michael Vincent plays Matt, William Katt plays Jack and Gary Busey plays Leroy, with Patti D'Arbanville, Lee Purcell and Sam Melville among the supporting cast. The production, from Warner Bros. Pictures, had a budget of about 11 million dollars.

Released on May 26, 1978, the film runs 120 minutes and blends comedy with drama. On IMDb it holds a 7.1 rating from around 8,000 votes, and on TMDB a 6.9 from 197 votes. A critics' rating of 6.2 from 11 reviews is close to, though slightly below, those audience scores.