A nerd from Chicago tries desperately to fit in with the California surfing crowd, blind to the fact that their lives are even more boring and empty than his.A nerd from Chicago tries desperately to fit in with the California surfing crowd, blind to the fact that their lives are even more boring and empty than his.A nerd from Chicago tries desperately to fit in with the California surfing crowd, blind to the fact that their lives are even more boring and empty than his.
James Van Patten
- Mike
- (as Jimmy Van Patten)
Johnny Fain
- Tenner
- (as John Fain)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the buildings in the little beach town of Avila Beach, as seen in the movie, no longer exist. In the late 1990s, due to leakage from the Union 76 petroleum tanks outside of town, (seen at the beginning of the movie), the ground under the entire beachfront area was contaminated. To clean it up, they had to tear down and rebuild the entire beachfront strip.
- GoofsNear the end of the film, items on the windowsill replace themselves after T.T. knocks them off/over with the volleyball.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Grid 2 (2013)
- SoundtracksCalifornia Dreaming
Performed by America
Music & Lyrics by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips
Produced by Gerry Beckley (as Jerry Beckley) and Lee Bunnell
Featured review
Extremely not bad
According to George Carlin, the term "Extremely not bad" should be used more often ... as in, "Gosh, this turnip casserole is extremely not bad."
California Dreaming follows the trials and tribulations of TT (Dennis Christopher) as he arrives in California with some recordings of his recently-deceased brother's jazz music. The idea is to play the music near the ocean, because his brother loved the ocean. While in California, TT stays with an old surfer (Wynn, in probably the best role he's ever had ... should be, though, because he wrote the script), who offers TT a place to live. TT becomes a surfer, woos his landlord's daughter, gropes gratuitously-displayed breasts; so far, it's pretty standard surf-movie fare.
Near the end, though, there was an actual plot twist; the plot had been so thin up until that point that I didn't even notice it coming. I'm not as easily manipulated now as I did when I first saw this movie (when I was about 15), but I was so blindsided by this development that it actually gave the ending a strong emotional impact, for me.
Great cinema, it ain't, but Glynnis O'Connor and Tonya Roberts were both hotties, the surfing scenes are pretty cool, and the acting is convincing, if not outstanding.
California Dreaming follows the trials and tribulations of TT (Dennis Christopher) as he arrives in California with some recordings of his recently-deceased brother's jazz music. The idea is to play the music near the ocean, because his brother loved the ocean. While in California, TT stays with an old surfer (Wynn, in probably the best role he's ever had ... should be, though, because he wrote the script), who offers TT a place to live. TT becomes a surfer, woos his landlord's daughter, gropes gratuitously-displayed breasts; so far, it's pretty standard surf-movie fare.
Near the end, though, there was an actual plot twist; the plot had been so thin up until that point that I didn't even notice it coming. I'm not as easily manipulated now as I did when I first saw this movie (when I was about 15), but I was so blindsided by this development that it actually gave the ending a strong emotional impact, for me.
Great cinema, it ain't, but Glynnis O'Connor and Tonya Roberts were both hotties, the surfing scenes are pretty cool, and the acting is convincing, if not outstanding.
helpful•73
- DaCritic-2
- Jan 12, 2000
- How long is California Dreaming?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- State Beach
- Filming locations
- Avila Beach, California, USA(the town of State Beach)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content