California Dreaming (1979)

I wanted to see this movie, to show my husband what life was like growing up in SoCal hanging out at the beach in the 1970's. I didn't think it would be much of a movie but hoped that it would capture some of the "scene" as I remembered it... I was not disappointed! I "thought" I saw some of the kids I went to high school with in the background... I "thought" I was seeing old landmarks I remembered... I was really surprised to find it was filmed on the central coast, and that pretty much everyone in it was an actor! If you want to see a film that truly captures that time... early to mid 1970's in SoCal (Newport, Huntington, Laguna, Capistrano) THIS is the movie to watch... Yes, we were THAT shallow and yet uninvolved with everything going on in the "real world" because THE BEACH and anything that happened there was ALL that mattered... the sun DID shine like diamonds off the surface of the water...there were small crowds of people and wide open spaces of beach everyday... guys were obsessed with surfing and girls were obsessed with getting the guy... WHAT a Time Capsule! The acting is good in that these are all actors yet they portrayed the "scene" so well if you lived through it like I did, you just might be asking yourself if you know them... the storyline is not too far off from real life at that time either... but you had to live then and there for it to be real for you... I can almost smell the Coppertone...

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.

I've been looking for the title of this movie since San Luis Obispo County made Unocal clean up funky little Avila Beach. It seems a pipeline under the street from their oil terminal was leaking oil under the stand. This led to Unocal buying up most of the downtown and then selling or trading properties.Back to how I found it. It played last year on one of the premium channels, but I couldn't recall the title. Then last week I saw Seymour Cassel co-starring in TV's new "HEIST" show on one of the networks. I recognized his face, but not his silver hair. It was blonde in California Dreaming, so I checked his bio and found the film.I agree, I thought it was an early seventies film, not 1979. But then the old central coast town of Avila was timeless. Small beach, volleyball court sloped to the ocean, unpainted building on the corner where he lived was an abandoned property owned by an eccentric who held on to everything he owned.All of the old Avila Beach is torn down now. Even the only historic building in town--the Custom House. The name now exists as a new restaurant down the street at the foot of the pier.For those who want to see what a small California beach town once looked like, rent or buy "California Dreaming". It's all that's left of the once funky town of Avila, where no one has ever drowned playing in the local surf. Reason? There is very little undertow. The waves crash and take you back to the beach. Board surfing is non-existent.

Dennis Christopher sure is convincing as a total nerd. He's so convincing, in fact, that we can barely stand watching for 90 minutes. But that's not the only problem with "California Dreaming". It also lacks focus, and for most of its running times it just seems to be drifting from one scene to another, without seeming to know where it's going or what type of movie it's trying to be, and then (after many stupid, leering comic scenes) turns dramatic in the end. Well, at least there is an unusual and steamy sex scene..... (**)