John is From Cincinnati, but These Surfers are from California
Jun 07 2007 / Santa Cruz, CA
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Three pro surfers sit down to review HBO's new surf-drama
It simply wouldn't do justice to write a review and critique about HBO's new surf-drama "John From Cincinnati," considering I am not a pro surfer, and the show focuses primarily on three generations of pro surfers as they deal with daily personal crises in the Southern California town of Imperial Beach.
No, this is a job for an actual, professional surfer. Three of them in fact. And the three are legitimate, established pros with lengthy resumes attaches to their names. Granted, they all call Santa Cruz their home (the real surf city, in this humble writer's opinion), but they've traveled the world many times over, and have surfed the breaks of Imperial Beach quite frequently.
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And perhaps more importantly, they understand the sub-culture of surfing better than anybody. And that is the premise behind "John From Cincinnati." The show tells the story of the Yosts, a family of incredibly talented, yet very troubled, surfers. The youngest is 13 year-old Shaun, who is on the verge of stardom. His father, Butchie, is a junkie who looks to have thrown his surfing career away. And the grandfather, Mitch, who seems to have problems of his own despite being a legendary surfer in his day.
The twist is the bizarre and mysterious character named John. When John appears, weird things begin to happen, particularly in the science fiction realm. It's here where twists and turns begin to take place. The 'John' character appears to be an alien, or unusual character, of the sort.
The casting for the show is solid. Some of the actors in the show include Bruce Greenwood ("Capote"), Rebecca De Mornay ("Risky Business"), Luis Guzman ("Boogie Nights," "Anger Management," "Punch Drunk Love"), Ed O’Neill ("Married with Children"), Luke Perry ("Beverly Hills 90210"), surfer Keala Kennelly ("Blue Crush"), Willie Garson ("Sex and the City"), Garret Dillahunt ("Deadwood"), and many more.
I caught up with professional surfers Omar Etcheverry, Kieran Horn and Homer Henard, in Homer's infamous 420 house in Santa Cruz, California. Together, the three sat down and watched a few episodes of "John From Cincinnati," which debuts immediately following the series finale of The Sopranos on Sunday, June 10th (10 p.m. et/pt).
Lat34: What did you think of the show?Kieran: Overall pretty interesting.
Omar: I liked it, although the alien aspect is pretty weird. I liked everything except that.
Kieran: Then again, it adds to the sci-fi affect. The surf shots were realistic. It's one of the first shows to really portray surf footage accurately.
Homer: The alien has No Fear™. Other than that, I liked the Butch character. He's a real character.
Lat34: What surf aspects were realistic?
Omar: The editing of the surf footage was really good.
Kieran: The footage. The way they were edited. The surf footage was in the evening, as were the land shots. The time setting of surf and land never matches in movies, which is always easy to pick up. The land shots were right on, where both the dialogue and the surf were both at the same time. The type of surf was realistic. It wasn't perfect though: They were surfing real sh***y SoCal surf.
Lat34: What about the little things, like the surf shop?
Omar: I liked the casting. And Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) rules.
Homer: I like the Butch character. He was awesome. He had No Fear™.
Lat34: What didn't you like about the show?
Kieran: The alien (John) part was lame. Maybe it's because people can't fully relate to the surf culture, so they have to get people intrigued by adding an alien/sci-fi aspect.
Omar: The supernatural, alien aspect was a bit of a stretch. It was almost like they were trying too hard. But, it could develop into something good.
Homer: The kid (Shaun Yost, played by Greyson Fletcher) had no personality. He was like a robot. Surf. Huntington. Parakeet. Too one-dimensional, like a little robot on phase one. I really liked the Butch character though. I find all the characters in the show similar to people I know in real life.Lat34: Is Imperial Beach accurately portrayed in the show?
Omar: It's pretty accurate. Illegal aliens, syringes, everything in the movie is like the real Imperial Beach.
Kieran: It seemed pretty real. I heard it's a rough place. I think the alien character is going to challenge Jimmy Slade for the world championship.
Homer: Ditto. Ghetto. Quesadilla.
Lat34: What did you think of Keala's performance?
Omar: She did good.
Homer: I thought she did a great job, one of the best in the show. Overall, I'm hooked on the show. I want to see more of what's going on.
Kieran: She was realistic. She did a good job. Her role wasn't super-huge, which is on par with who she is.
Lat34: Who are your sponsors?
Omar: Globe, Dragon, Surftech, Rip Curl Wetsuits, Santa Cruz Surf Shop, Aloha Island Grill, Sector 9.
Kieran: O'Neill, O'Neill Surf Shop, Reef, Natural Curves Surfboards.
Homer: No Fear™, Santa Cruz Surfboards, XL Wetsuits, OAM, Aloha Island Grill.
- Cyrus Saatsaz, Hapless Recreational Surfer
Look for Lat34's interview with Keala Kennelly coming Thursday, as well as more about the show coming up on Saturday before the premiere....
