Blue Juice is a 1995 British comedy drama film directed by Carl Prechezer and starring Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ewan McGregor, and Steven Mackintosh. It follows JC (Pertwee) as he attempts to reconcile his surfer lifestyle and loser friends, with the pressure to grow up from his girlfriend (Jones). Blue Juice was set in Cornwall, and released in 1995 by FilmFour.
Plot
JC is a respected surf instructor, approaching his 30th birthday and living in an idyllic Cornish village with long-term girlfriend Chloe. He is focused on a dream of travelling the world surfing, with Chloe. His old friends from London visit late one night on an impromptu stag-weekend, including the 'kidnapped' groom-to-be Terry, who being more sensible and staid than the others is considered 'boring' and in need of livening up. The arrival of his three friends exposes tensions in JC's relationship with Chloe, as she would prefer to buy the surf-shack café they work in rather than go around the world, and suspects that JC prefers the company of his friends over her. The friends are keen to tempt JC back into his old lifestyle, especially drug-dealing Dean. JC argues with both Chloe and his friends.
At a rave that Chloe has organised to quickly raise funds to buy the surf-shack, Dean is attacked by some unhappy customers he had swindled. JC finds him alone, Dean admits his life has gone off-track, but suggests that JC could help him by agreeing to surf a dangerous reef called 'The Boneyard', to gain a story for Dean's hoped for new career in journalism - to secure this job, Dean needs to land a big story, preferably with a life-or-death situation. JC tells Dean that the last time he had surfed the reef it had nearly killed him, and that had been ten years ago when he was younger and fitter.
JC refuses to give in to Dean's pleas to surf 'The Boneyard', which prompts Dean to try it himself, as he has already arranged media coverage, with his boss watching. Dean fails in his attempt, hitting his head when smashed under by a huge wave. JC dives in to rescue Dean, successfully surfing the reef in the process, while saving Dean's life and job at the same time. Dean's boss gets knocked out by the local guru for his highly offensive attitude and remarks.
One of JC's other friends, Terry – having earlier been tricked by Dean into taking drugs, and spray-painted himself silver to dance on a platform at the rave – has radically re-thought his life, and buys JC round the world tickets for him and Chloe. JC instead uses the money to buy the surf-shack café for Chloe and himself to run, deciding that his relationship is more important than impressing his friends.
Cast
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Chloe
Sean Pertwee as J.C. Ewan McGregor as Dean Raymond Steven MacKintosh as Josh Tambini Peter Gunn as Terry Colcott
Wardrobe and props
Many of the film's characters are dressed in clothing from the pressure group Surfers against Sewage. Many characters also wear the Australian surfwear label Mambo Graphics and Stüssy hats. Wetsuits used in the film and in publicity shots were manufactured by the Cornish Surf brand Gul. Other surf brands seen throughout the film, in the form of stickers or clothing, include Body Glove and Quiksilver.
Surfers Against Sewage stickers and posters are widely used throughout the film, visible in the Aqua Shack scenes and applied to the blue Bedford CF van driven by JC and Chloe for the surf school.
Pertwee used toupée tape to hold a sock in place, in the scene where JC appears nude apart from a black sock. "...I came up with this ingenious ploy - wrapping toupée tape on my chap. You won't believe how difficult it is to remove..." In a 1995 interview with FHM, Zeta-Jones recalled the filming of the sock scene; "It was a brown Marks & Spencer one, though. If it was a Stüssy one, or something like that, it might have been more interesting."
Professional surfer Steve England was a body double for Peter Gunn's character, Terry. To replicate Gunn's look and larger build he had to have his long hair cut and wear two wetsuits with towels packed around his stomach.
A reference is made in the film to the 1960s comic book character the Silver Surfer. On the way to find the rave, JC, Josh, Dean and Terry pass a man painted entirely in silver carrying a silver surfboard who waves at them. Terry, under the influence of drugs supplied by Dean, then copies this by painting himself silver.