California Dreaming (1979)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I first saw this movie when I was stationed in Hawaii in the Navy in the early eighties. It's a simple little "put your brain on hold for an hour and a half" movie. Don't expect a lot of plot or a masterpiece, just a fun little "beach movie."As for the town of Avila Beach, yes, most of it is gone. I found out where they filmed the movie, and I used to LOVE when I moved to Sacramento, and my National Guard unit would spend it's 2 week annual training in San Luis Obispo, (the classic Fremont Theater in town is used in the movie) because I could visit Avila. The Onion rings at the Old Custom House were the best!!! The restaurant was even advertised in the movie, (On the side of the taxi driving around town), and there where pictures of the filming of the movie on the walls. It was actually a customs house at one time.When I heard that they were going to have to tear down the downtown strip due to the fuel leakage over the years, I was heartbroken. Fortunately, they were able to save and "store" two historic buildings, (The Avila Grocery and one other building), and put them back on the strip after the project, but the Custom house was too fragile to move, and they had to tear it down. Having a brand new restaurant with the same name is an insult to the old place. They should have just let it fade into memory. Now, Avila looks like any other generic California beach town.Maybe that's why I love this movie so much, because it reminds me of the old funky town of Avila Beach that I (and so many of the locals) loved so much. I'm glad Hulu decided to put it up.

Like a previous commenter, I too saw this movie when HBO was young and willing to play movies that seem antique now but were actually a lot of fun...this is one of those movies...what is now considered a star-studded line-up of actors filled the cast of this film, which features Dennis Christopher as TT, an Eastern youngster sent out West to "grow up"...and boy does that happen...along the way, he runs into an at-first hesitant Glynnis O'Connor, who does look fetching in a bikini... and Seymour Cassell as Duke, a BSer extraordinaire but with a good soul if not bad heart...and along the way, TT learns to adjust to California life and actually does well...there are a few other subplots in the movie, including Ned Wynn as Earl, Alice Playten as a snobby Corrine, John Calvin as Rick the token stud bad boy, and Tanya Roberts as Stephanie, the girl who loves Rick...and since Stacy Nelkin, the "queen of the B movies" is in this one, it makes it even better...not sure if it's available via rental, but I have seen it online for purchase...it will bring back memories of movies gone by...and it's worth having...

I thought I was dreaming, "California Dreaming" that is, when I stumbled across this movie on cable early this morning. But the dream soon turned into a recurring nightmare. The movie itself was as good as I remembered it, but what happened to the outstanding version of The Mamas & The Papas song California Dreamin' performed by the 1970s band America. I have considerable history with this movie. I saw it for the first time on cable in the early '80s. I thought it was a very enjoyable movie but it was the version of the song California Dreamin' that hooked me. I recollect putting a lot of time into trying to find the soundtrack. Alas, my efforts were futile.A decade or so later I saw part of the movie again on cable. I was stoked about getting to hear this song again. I cranked up the volume and prepared to groove, but the song never appeared. I could not remember at what point in the movie this song played. I missed the first few minutes of the movie so I figured it must have been in the opening credits. This rekindled my desire to find the soundtrack. I searched for weeks, again to no avail.Fast forward to this morning. I watched the movie end to end. But where was this damn song that has eluded me for decades? I began to wonder if I had imagined this song or maybe it was in a different movie. The IMDb came to my rescue. After reading the user comments about this movie I thankfully realized I was not crazy. The soundtrack was apparently altered. I searched the Internet for the soundtrack but after all these years I still can't find it. I did, however, find the song. It is on the CD, America - The Complete Greatest Hits available on Amazon.com.Closure at long last. Thank you IMDb and Amazon.com!!!

"The 'Citizen Kane' of Beach Movies." Keith Kuramoto, Cinema Graduate, San Francisco State University "This film was the template for all the teen-sex, coming-of-age, boys-and-boobs films of the 80's and 90's - From 'Porky's' to 'American Pie.'" Brian MacGregor, Cinema Graduate, San Francisco State University This definitive Southern California sun-and-surf cult film is sacred in Japan!Where's the DVD for this film?Vestron Video!Are you listening? MGM: Where's the SEQUEL? California Dreamt!