I was surprised by how much heart the Bra Boys movie had. A little less surfing than I expected and quite a bit more "lifestyle" stuff.

The Abbertons (who directed the movie) did make themselves out as being altruistic (especially at the end of the film), but there's probably much more to the story. Still, I've read about them separately and know that they had to fend for themselves from a very young age. The movie brought to light just how tough it was for the Abbertons(druggie mom, stepfather beating them with a bat, having to fight with other gangs attacking them, etc).

There were some very touching moments, most notably the trials of Kobe and Jai, the death of "Ma", and the Cronulla race-riots mediation.

The surfing footage was full on manson, especially at Ours and Cyclops (Psyclops?) and that long left, wherever that was. (I must restate that interestingly bodyboarders actually pioneered Ours and Psyclops without jetskis.)

So fricken funny when they were talking about the full-on brawl with the big policeman party. And when the moms were talking about their kids getting grom abuse, oh my ("I saw my son tied up eating dog poop... but I trust the guys (Bra Boys) with my son, for sure").

Looking forward to DVD release and I'll show my wife and kid, despite the heavy profanity and adult content. Even Slater is recorded throwing out some honest commentary.

Does their upbringing and environment justify their gang-style actions and heavy heavy localism? Well, you can judge for yourself. The movie doesn't ask for sympathy, but maybe just a bit of empathy. It does glorify their thuggery to some extent.

Worth seeing.