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Movies like Surfer, Dude

Key Features:
Existentialism, Surfing, Spiritual journey, Identity crisis, California, Charismatic protagonist, Self-discovery, Counter-culture, Comedy
Tone:
humorous, whimsical
Target Audience:
Free spirits, Comedy fans, Counter-culture enthusiasts, California lifestyle
Emotional Arc:
Confusion → Reflection

Surfer, Dude

2008-09-05
Surfer, Dude Poster - Find Similar Movies

A wave twisting tale of a soul searching surfer experiencing an existential crisis.

Genres
Comedy
Cast
Matthew McConaughey, Jeffrey Nordling, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Zachary Knighton, Ramón Rodríguez, Travis Fimmel, Amber Hay, Scott Glenn, Alexie Gilmore
Crew
S.R. Bindler, Mark Gustawes, S.R. Bindler, Cory Van Dyke, George R. Mays
Rating
4.5(114 votes)
Surfer, DudeSurfer, Dude
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The Surfer
5.767

A man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son. When he is humiliated by a group of locals, the man is drawn into a conflict that keeps rising and pushes him to his breaking point.



City Slickers
6.45

Three New York businessmen decide to take a "Wild West" vacation that turns out not to be the relaxing vacation they had envisioned.



Surf Ninjas
5

Two Asian-American "surfer-dude" brothers discover they are the long lost princes from a China Sea Island. Part of their inheritance includes magically-induced martial arts prowess and seeing the future. Using their new powers, they act to overthrow the island's current dictator, a despotic madman with a metal face!



Surf's Up
Surf's Up(2007)
6.5

A young surfer enters his first contest, hoping a win will earn him respect. But an encounter with a laid-back local forces him to rethink his values.



Big Wednesday
6.88

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



The Wave
The Wave(2019)
6.025

A man on the verge of a promotion takes a mysterious hallucinogenic drug that begins to tear down his reality and expose his life for what it really is.



The Perfect Wave
4.9

The true story of Ian McCormack who grew up surfing the waters of New Zealand. Wanting to dive deeper, Ian sets out on a journey with his best friend that will change his life as they chase the perfect wave.



Johnny Tsunami
5.9

A Hawaiian teenage surfer shows off his skills when he takes to the snow slopes in Vermont.



Orange County
6

Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.



The Beach Bum
5.7

An irreverent comedy about the misadventures of Moondog, a rebellious stoner and lovable rogue who lives large.



Solo
Solo(2018)
5.432

After falling off a cliff and suffering substantial injures, for 48 long hours a young surfer must face a merciless nature and his own physical and mental agony to try to survive.



The Tribes of Palos Verdes

When the situation at her idyllic Palos Verdes home turns volatile, young Medina attempts to surf her way to happiness.



North Shore
5.8

On a small stretch of coastline as powerful as a man's will, Rick Kane came to surf the big waves. He found a woman who would show him how to survive, and a challenge unlike any other.



Dude
Dude(2018)
5.5

Four best friends negotiate loss and major life changes during the last two weeks of high school.



Wilson
Wilson(2017)
6

Middle-aged and divorced, Wilson finds himself lonely, smug, and obsessed with his past.



The Brice Man
5.517

A wannabe surfer parties on the French Riviera while awaiting the perfect wave.



Dazed and Confused
7.3

The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.



SPF-18
SPF-18(2017)
4.423

Eighteen-year-old Penny Cooper spent years pining for heartthrob surfer Johnny Sanders Jr. before his father’s tragic death brought them closer together. But now high school is over, and when mysterious country musician Ash Baker shows up on the beach, Penny is torn.



The Big Lebowski
7.841

Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelchair-bound millionaire, and finds himself dragged into a strange series of events involving nihilists, adult film producers, ferrets, errant toes, and large sums of money.



Jesus' Son
6.264

A young man turns from drug addiction and petty crime to a life redeemed by a discovery of compassion.



Chairman of the Board
3.572

Surfer Edison isn't able to make ends meet with his inventions or his lifestyle. But then he meets billionaire Armand McMillian, who takes a shine to the young bum — so much so that he leaves his invention company to him upon his death. Unfortunately, Armand's nephew, Bradford, only gets a surfboard. While Edison manages to run the company successfully, with the help of pretty Natalie, Bradford conspires to take him down.



Mojave
Mojave(2016)
4.99

A suicidal artist goes into the desert, where he finds his doppelgänger, a homicidal drifter.



Psycho Beach Party
5.7

Chicklet is a sixteen-year old tomboy who's desperate to be part of the in-crowd of Malibu beach surfers. She's the typical American girl - except for one little problem: her personality is split into more slices than a pepperoni pizza.



Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Cal Weaver is living the American dream. He has a good job, a beautiful house, great children and a beautiful wife, named Emily. Cal's seemingly perfect life unravels, however, when he learns that Emily has been unfaithful and wants a divorce. Over 40 and suddenly single, Cal is adrift in the fickle world of dating. Enter, Jacob Palmer, a self-styled player who takes Cal under his wing and teaches him how to be a hit with the ladies.



Point Break
7.162

In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.



Chasing Mavericks
7.002

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



Joshy
Joshy(2016)
5.683

After his engagement ends badly, Josh decides to take advantage of his bachelor-party plans in Ojai, California, with the few friends still willing to join him. Focused on drugs and their own hangups, his self-absorbed friends refuse to confront the elephant in the room and ask Josh how he’s feeling. As welcome and unwelcome guests stop by, Josh will attempt to find some closure over this weekend with the guys.



Wonderful World
5.3

Ben Singer is a failed children's folk singer, a career proofreader, a less-than-extraordinary weekend dad, and perhaps the most negative man alive. Floundering in all aspects of his life, Ben's only comfort comes from regular chess games and friendly debates on game theory with his Senegalese roommate Ibou. When Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's pessimistic worldview seems unequivocally confirmed. It takes an extended visit from Ibou's sister Khadi for Ben to realize that cynicism may be all a matter of perspective.



C.O.G.
C.O.G.(2013)
5.522

A gay cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path.



Rebirth
Rebirth(2016)
4.741

A man's life is turned inside out after a visit from his college friend leads him into the unexpected.



The New Guy
5.928

Nerdy high school senior Dizzy Harrison has finally gotten lucky -- after purposely getting expelled, he takes lessons in 'badass cool' from a convict and enrolls at a new school. But can he keep up the ruse?



Peaceful Warrior
7.4

A chance encounter with a stranger changes the life of a college gymnast.



SLC Punk
SLC Punk(1998)
7.1

Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.



Phenomenon
6.473

An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.



The Dude in Me
7.818

Dong-hyun is a high school student. One day, he falls from the rooftop and bumps into Pan-soo who is a passerby. Pan-soo is a member of a criminal organization. When the two men wake up in the hospital, they discover that they have switched bodies.



Blue Crush
5.994

Nothing gets between Anne Marie and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates, she is up before dawn every morning to conquer the waves and count the days until the Pipe Masters competition. Having transplanted herself to Hawaii with no one's blessing but her own, Anne Marie finds all she needs in the adrenaline-charged surf scene - until pro quarterback Matt Tollman comes along...



Wild Men
Wild Men(2022)
6.06

Armed only with a bow and an ensemble of animal skins, Martin sets off into the forest in a misguided attempt to overcome his midlife crisis. A chance meeting with a fugitive named Musa leads to a twisted trip through the fjords with police, drug runners, and Martin's family not far behind. As an unlikely friendship develops and wildly original set-pieces unfold, Martin's quest for manhood leads to deep and hilariously uncomfortable realizations about the presumed masculine ideal.



Irrational Man
6.527

On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student.



Nowhere
Nowhere(1997)
6.8

In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest party of the year. But they'll only make it if they can survive the drug trips, suicides, trysts, mutilations and alien abductions that occur as one surreal day unfolds.



Reality Bites
6.564

A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.



Soul Surfer
7.012

The true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith.



Bubble Boy
5.748

Jimmy is a young man who was born without an immune system and has lived his life within a plastic bubble in his bedroom... who pines for the sweet caresses of girl-next-door Chloe. But when Chloe decides to marry her high school boyfriend, Jimmy – bubble suit and all – treks cross-country to stop her.



Breaking the Waves
7.493

In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.



The Sex Trip
5.1

After a shallow womanizer refuses a mysterious homeless woman's request for a kiss, he wakes up the next morning to discover he's been changed into a woman.



Boulevard
Boulevard(2014)
5.7

Nolan Mack, a soft-spoken bank employee, undoubtedly loves his wife Joy, though their cavernous empty house only underscores how disconnected they’ve always been from each other. Nolan finds himself drifting from his familiar present-day life in pursuit of lost time after meeting a troubled young man named Leo on his drive home. What begins as an aimless drive down an unfamiliar street turns into a life-altering series of events.



Seashore
Seashore(2015)
6.236

A lonely beach on the southernmost coast of Brazil is the scene for two friends, on the brink of adulthood, to explore their understanding of themselves and one another. Martin has been sent by his father to retrieve what appears to be an inheritance-related document from the family of his recently deceased and estranged grandfather. Tomaz accompanies him, seemingly hoping to regain some of their former closeness. The two boys shelter themselves in a glass house, in front of a cold and stormy sea.



Ride Your Wave
7.6

Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a sudden fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love.



Entertainment
5.594

Set in the Mojave Desert, the film follows a broken-down comedian playing clubs across the Southwest, working his way to Los Angeles to meet his estranged daughter.



The Salton Sea
6.547

After the murder of his beloved wife, a man in search of redemption is set adrift in a world where nothing is as it seems. On his journey, he befriends slacker Jimmy "The Finn", becomes involved in rescuing his neighbor Colette from her own demons, and gets entangled in a web of deceit full of unexpected twists and turns.



mid90s
mid90s(2018)
7.5

In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at a skate shop.



Dead Man
Dead Man(1995)
7.297

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.



Shelter
Shelter(2007)
7.7

Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach works dead-end jobs to support his sister and her son. Questioning his life, he paints, surfs and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe. When Gabe's older brother returns home for the summer, Zach suddenly finds himself drawn into a relationship he didn't expect.



A Guy Thing
5.888

Paul Morse is a good guy. When his friends throw him a wild bachelor party, he just wants to keep his conscience clean -- which is why he's shocked when he wakes up in bed with a beautiful girl named Becky and can't remember the night before. Desperate to keep his fiancée, Karen, from finding out what may or may not be the truth, he tells her a teensy lie. Soon his lies are spiraling out of control and his life is a series of comical misunderstandings.



Swimming with Sharks

Guy is a young film executive who's willing to do whatever it takes to make it in Hollywood. He begins working for famed producer Buddy Ackerman, a domineering, manipulative, coldhearted boss. When Guy also finds out that his cynical girlfriend, Dawn, has been using sex as a career move, he reaches his limit. Guy decides to exact revenge on Buddy by kidnapping him and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.



Horse Girl
5.649

A socially awkward woman with a fondness for arts and crafts, horses, and supernatural crime shows finds her increasingly lucid dreams trickling into her waking life.



The Peanut Butter Falcon

A down-on-his-luck crab fisherman embarks on a journey to get a young man with Down syndrome to a professional wrestling school in rural North Carolina and away from the retirement home where he’s lived for the past two and a half years.



Free Guy
Free Guy(2021)
7.462

A bank teller discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now, in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it's too late.



Grandma
Grandma(2015)
6.463

Self-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.



Beach Rats
6.051

On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men.



The Sea of Trees
6.212

In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption.



Wassup Rockers
5.6

Instead of adhering to the norms of their South Central neighborhood, a group of skater boys opt to bus into Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where they attract local rich girls - and plenty of trouble with the police, jealous boyfriends, and nervous parents.



Airborne
Airborne(1993)
5.9

Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.



Ride
Ride(2014)
5.694

Overbearing mom, Jackie, travels cross-country to be with her son, Angelo, after he drops out of college to become a surfer. She meets a surf instructor who convinces her to try to accept her son's wishes and allow him to follow his dreams.



This Is Not a Comedy

A comedian finds new meaning in his life when his best friend asks him to be her sperm donor, and he meets a girl who connects with the cosmos.



Boys on the Side
6.364

After breaking up with her girlfriend, a nightclub singer, Jane, answers a personal ad from Robin, a real estate agent with AIDS, seeking a cross-country travel partner. On their journey from New York City to Los Angeles, the two stop by Pittsburgh to pick up Jane's friend Holly, who is trying to escape an abusive relationship. With three distinct personalities, the women must overcome their differences to help one another.



Surf Nazis Must Die
3.857

When a Black oil well worker is killed by a band of California neo-Nazis, his gun-wielding grandmother busts out of her retirement home to avenge him.



Swingers
Swingers(1996)
6.865

After 6 years together, Mike's girlfriend leaves him, so he travels to LA to be a star. Six months on, he's still not doing very well— so a few of his friends try to reconnect him to the social scene and hopefully help him forget his failed relationship.



Spring Breakers
5.247

After four college girls rob a restaurant to fund their spring break in Florida, they get entangled with a weird dude with his own criminal agenda.



Interstate 60
7.383

An aspiring painter meets various characters and learns valuable lessons while traveling across America.



Latter Days
6.843

Christian, a hunky, 20-something, West Hollywood party boy gets more than he bargains for when he tries to seduce Aaron, a sexually confused Mormon missionary who moves into his apartment complex.



Walter
Walter(2015)
5.276

A ticket-taker at the local cinema believes he is the son of God. He has agreed to decide the eternal fate of everyone he comes in to contact with.



Flirting with Forty

A divorcee has a passionate affair with a much younger surfing instructor in Hawaii.



Breath
Breath(2017)
6.569

A pair of teenagers in Western Australia looking to escape the monotony of life in a small town take up surfing lessons from a guy named Sando.



Dope
Dope(2015)
7.061

Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the SAT. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.



SubUrbia
SubUrbia(1997)
6.2

A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.



Boys and Girls
5.943

Ryan and Jennifer are opposites who definitely do not attract. At least that's what they always believed. When they met as twelve-year-olds, they disliked one another. When they met again as teenagers, they loathed each other. But when they meet in college, the uptight Ryan and the free-spirited Jennifer find that their differences bind them together and a rare friendship develops.



Waves
Waves(2019)
7.358

A controlling father’s attempts to ensure that his two children succeed in high school backfire after his son experiences a career-ending sports injury. Their familial bonds are eventually placed under severe strain by an unexpected tragedy.



Dude, Where's My Car?

Two stoners wake up after a night of partying and cannot remember where they parked their car.



Search Party
5.335

Two oafs must rescue their stranded pal in Mexico.



Soulless
Soulless(2012)
5.7

It's a story of 29-year-old top-manager Max who is really sure he is absolutely successful. All his life is around earning and spending money. But one day he meet a girl who is from another, real, world. And his own world starts to crash down.



Surf's Up 2: WaveMania

Cody, Chicken Joe and Lani are back in their most epic adventure yet! The most radical surfing dream team, The Hang Five puts Cody and his friends to the test and teaches them the meaning of teamwork as they journey to the most legendary surfing spot on the planet.



EDtv
EDtv(1999)
6

Video store clerk Ed agrees to have his life filmed by a camera crew for a tv network.



Nothing
Nothing(2003)
5.806

The film tells the story of two good friends who live together, Andrew, an agoraphobic travel agent who works from his home, and Dave, a loser who works in an office where he is treated with contempt. Just when it seems things can't get any worse for the two, the entire world outside of their house disappears and is replaced with an endless white void.



Geography Club
6.2

A coming-of-age movie that tells a story unfolding in every high school around the country -- a story of kids hiding their true identities in plain sight, even as they feverishly pursue their hearts' desires.



Meet the Deedles
4.488

Two surfers end up as Yellowstone park rangers and have to stop a former ranger who is out for revenge.



Life or Something Like It

A reporter Lanie Kerrigan interviews a psychic homeless man for a fluff piece about a football game's score. Instead he tells her that her life has no meaning and is going to end in just a few days, which sparks her to action, trying to change the pattern of her life...



Identity
Identity(2003)
7.174

Complete strangers stranded at a remote desert motel during a raging storm soon find themselves the target of a deranged murderer. As their numbers thin out, the travelers begin to turn on each other, as each tries to figure out who the killer is.



Sideways
Sideways(2004)
7.1

Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.



Go
Go(1999)
6.981

A supermarket clerk decides to step in for an absent drug dealer, setting off an explosive, comedic chain of events.



Results
Results(2015)
5.048

Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client.



Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass(2010)
7.1

Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.



Coconut Hero
5.889

It's not easy being a teenager and Mike, a sixteen-year-old, has it espcially hard. He lives in the sticks with his mother, a non-stop nagger, in Faintville, a Canadian timber industry town. He has no father, no friends, not even a favorite meal. Basically, his sole wish is simply to vanish from the face of the earth. One day, Mike writes his own obituary and shoots himself. To his great disappointment he wakes up the in the local hospital. During a routine examination, the doctors discover a plum-sized tumor in his brain. Mike can scarcely believe his luck and keeps the illness to himself to avoid undergoing surgery that would save him. Staring death directly in the eyes, however, changes Mike's point of view and he re-evaluates his opinion of both enchanting and crazy Miranda. Somebody seems to understand him after all.



Moana
Moana(2016)
7.6

In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain's daughter's island, she answers the Ocean's call to seek out the demigod to set things right.



Boat Trip
Boat Trip(2002)
5.3

Two guys whose love lives are a wreck look forward to finding ladies on the high seas. Unfortunately, they've mistakenly been booked on a gay cruise.



Paddleton
Paddleton(2019)
6.986

An unlikely friendship between two neighbors becomes an unexpectedly emotional journey when the younger man is diagnosed with terminal cancer.



Drift
Drift(2013)
5.8

In the 70s two brothers battle killer waves, conservative society and ruthless bikers to kick-start the modern surf industry.



Fatso
Fatso(2008)
5.5

Overweight loner Rino spends his days in seclusion, until his dad rents a room to an overtly sexual girl who challenges Rino to break down his walls.



Yes Man
Yes Man(2008)
6.7

Carl Allen, a guy whose life is going nowhere, signs up for a self-help program based on one simple covenant: say yes to everything…and anything.



Just One of the Guys

When Terry Griffith loses her high school's writing competition, she's convinced that it's because she's a girl. So Terry decides to change high schools and pose as a boy to prove her point. Her brother, Buddy, helps her pass as a guy so well that she is soon making friends with the boys at school, including the attractive Rick, who becomes her new best friend. But her gender-swapping makes things difficult when she falls in love with him.

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