Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Vince Monton, Umbrella Entertainment.
Along with a wonderful cast, Windrider features heart-stopping windsurfing sequences and the stunning scenery of coastal Western Australia.
Tom Burlinson (The Man From Snowy River) plays the role of Stewart ‘P. C.’ Simpson, an heir to an engineering empire. However, he indulges his passion for windsurfing on a daily basis. He lives in a splendid beachfront home with his wealthy father Stewart Simpson Senior (Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell), who appreciates his son’s amazing abilities on the waves, even though he may fault him for not working a regular job.
Although he works at a pace faster than the speed of light, P.C.’s ingenious ideas (if somewhat unconventional) hardly fit the corporate mould. His true passion is board sailing, and he excels in the difficult art of wave jumping.
P.C. and company engineer Howard (Simon Chilvers) persist in coming up with hare-brained devices. It culminates with a plan to build a new, advanced windsurfer which he puts through its paces. He succeeds in doing what he has been striving to achieve all along and has never been done before … the perfect 360˚ somersault!
Unfortunately, the only witness to this feat is a beautiful red-headed stranger, rock singer Jade Kelly (Nicole Kidman, The Hours), who watches from the cliffs above the surf and disappears before P.C. can catch up to her. He finds her and their romance blossoms, as sport, friends and an upcoming championship become secondary.
Kelly is a lady with a drive for success, determined not to let personal relationships get in her way. P.C. Simpson is not one to take “no” for an answer. He undertakes a comical and unrelenting courtship and finally wears down Jade’s resistance.
However, when P.C. is attacked by a shark, and has to be rescued by his arch-windsurfing rival, Coyote Phillips (Kim Bullard), things start to spiral downwards. Suddenly P.C. finds he’s lost his edge, looking for excuses and some place to lay the blame.
The 1986 film is out on Blu-ray and DVD.
Who is P.C.’s arch-windsurfing rival? If your answer is correct, then you could win one Blu-ray copy of Windrider. Entries should be sent to [email protected] by Monday, 12 July 2021. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column on 13 July 2021.
