taroB The film made me fall in love with Hawaii all over again even though I don't live there anymore. The hawaii-ness (the green-blue ocean, the white sandy beaches, etc...) of the movie was gorgeous. Also, the dude who played Duke was perfect. There wasn't an angry bone in his body and he always had a lot of aloha and was always smiling. This is how I remember Hawaii. This was what was good about this movie.On the other hand, the dude who played the hotshot surfer (Scot Davis) going back in time was probably the worst cringe-inducing acting that I could remember seeing in a long time. How embarrassing watching this guy's false range of anger, displacement, to sincerity and sorrow. I mean this is the thread of the movie for chrissakes. Everything he expressed on his face was false. The acting was terrible. The guy should take some acting classes or practice his lines in the mirror. He absolutely destroyed the watch-ability of this movie. Wow, that is very brutal of me, but I have to say it. Also, for someone who surfs, you can tell right away when he is paddling that he was not a surfer. Bruddah, keep your knees and ankles together and not shaped like a V on your board and don't rock back and forth. It should be more fluid.This flick would've been better off as a straight story about Duke Kahanamoku and not left him as a supporting character and dropped the lead actor and dropped the convoluted time travel element of the story altogether and made it a straight story about the Duke. Now that would've been great. Sean Kaawa carried the scenes he was in, in this movie and would've easily carried a whole movie about the Duke on his back. As a matter of fact, this whole movie should've been about Duke, Blackie, and Caps - about three beach boys growing up in beginning-of the-20th-century Waikiki and how he turned surfing onto the world. At least those three guys injected much needed humor. Now that would've been a great flick. Maybe in the sequel.Also, someone should rotate that Duke statue in Waikiki cuz he would never turn his back on the ocean.k den cuz

leahjo My husband and I saw "The Ride" at the Hawaii International Film Festival at Restaurant Row in Honolulu. We were lucky enough to meet many of the cast members and discuss the film before and after the showing. The local actors were wonderful, especially Duke and Lehua (love her necklace!). In contrast, David's acting was very over-done in the beginning, but improved as the film went on. Beautiful views showing the simplicity of Waikiki at the turn of the century were magical. The costumes and music were exceptional. The surfing scenes were great - the use of wooden long boards added to the era of the picture. We enjoyed this glimpse of what life in Hawaii was like in Duke Kahanamoku's time. "The Ride" is a great escape back to Hawaii.

Loudi-Ann Rodriguez I had the pleasure of meeting a few cast and crew members when they came out to tour the movie in San Diego. A group of us from SDSU's Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) were given the opportunity to view the movie for the first time and give our feed back to the cast and crew members that were present. And of course, without a doubt, we all agreed that this movie was the best any of us had ever seen about Duke Kahanamoku and the joys of surfing. The Ride illustrates the surreal connection between the early days of surfing and its growth over the years since the Duke. At the same time redefining the old cultural ways and the strong rooted connections among family and friends. What more is there to say, other than it's a great movie?!? Between the great cast, awesome location, sound track and most definitely the story line, this movie is definitely one of the best I've seen come from the Hawaii!

vegasginger all the actors were exceptional!!! loved the story and the scenery was beautiful. the story was easy to follow and was told nicely. i grew up in Hawaii in the 1940's and it reminded me of how wonderful Hawaii was then. i met duke in Waikiki and always admired him ;his surfing and swimming abilities. he was was one of the nicest guys i ever met. the woman that played duke's mom (Paulette Franco) is my daughter. my name is Joe Franco and i live in las Vegas, Nevada now. i just received the movie as a wonderful Christmas present today from Paulette and i am thrilled to have it. thank you for making such a historic moviesincerelyJoe Franco