BEACHES AIN’T READY.
This big-screen take on the corny 1989-2001 TV series goes for raunchy gags and waterlogged action, failing to impress in both instances. Dwayne Johnson inherits the old David Hasselhoff part as Mitch, the veteran among a crew of Florida lifeguards; when a poorly motivated former Olympic swimmer (Zac Efron) shows up for duty, and they all get drawn into a murder mystery, Mitch has his hands full. Meant to be breezy and fun, but it’s cheap and way overlong. Not even Johnson is appealing enough to save it; cameos from the show’s stars are pointless.
2017-U.S. 116 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Seth Gordon. Cast: Dwayne Johnson (Mitch Bucannon), Zac Efron (Matt Brody), Priyanka Chopra (Victoria Leeds), Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass… David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson.
Trivia: Co-produced by Ivan Reitman; co-executive produced by Johnson. Also released in a 121-min. version.
