Jackie Durning (Helen Hunt) and her son Angelo (Brenton Thwaites) have an unusually close relationship. She's a busy editor in NYC. He goes out to L.A., drops out of school, and takes up surfing. The controlling mom decides to secretly follow her son. When he tells her that he wants his new life without her, she decides to surf to be with him. Ramon (David Zayas) is her limo driver. Ian (Luke Wilson) is her surf teacher.

Jackie is too acidic by a few percentile. Hunt is well verse in playing the straight man in a comedy duo. This character dials it to eleven when ten would be perfect. I can see her trying to make the comedy work but it's not completely good. When she loosen the reins, the humor works better. There are some troubled family dynamics in the story. It sorta works but the change in tones can be jarring. The comedy almost works and the emotional drama also almost works. This is almost a good movie.

Helen Hunt plays an over protective mom who can't let go. She works for NY literary firm, and her son Angelo (Brenton Thwaites) desires to be a writer, making their relationship strained. Angelo opts to visit his dad (Robert Knepper) in California for the summer, the type of controlling dad, who tells his son, "whatever makes you happy." After spending 2 minutes on a California beach, Angelo decides he wants to stay. Mom comes out to LA, a place that she loathes like the NY snob that she portrays, and takes surfing lessons to be closer to her son...the one running away from her.

The film is all about the mom-son relationship and a bad love story. The characters lacked depth. I didn't feel for none of the major characters. It was also a mediocre attempt at comedy. Helen Hunt acts better than she writes or direct.

Guide: F-bomb. Sex. No nudity.

Ride

When a woman says that she's riding the crimson wave it doesn't mean she's a sunrise surfer.

Mind your, the middle-aged mom in this dramedy could be the exception.

When her son Angelo (Brenton Thwaites) drops out of college to pursue his writing and surf aspirations on the West Coast, Jackie (Helen Hunt) takes a hiatus from her editing job to keep an eye on him.

In California she starts taking surf lessons from Ian (Luke Wilson) and discovers a new side to herself apart from her son's post-secondary life choices.

Free to explore, Angelo also finds his rebellious view on education may not be the best option for his art.

From its superficial self-discovery script to its stock surfing shots, this vanity project from writer/director Helen Hunt does little to showcase any noteworthy talents beyond her established acting ability.

Nevertheless, surfer parents sound way less involved than helicopter parents.

Red Light

vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca