High school senior Luke Harris has dreams of being a pro surfer, but his parents want him to focus on picking a college. So, when Luke learns that a spot is opening on the local surf team, he sees his big chance to prove to them that he can make it as a surfer. However, Luke must first beat out the new surfing sensation, Matt, who has his own set of eyes on the open spot.

Then, when a devastating tragedy forces Luke to take a hard look at his life and his faith, it's up to a youth pastor and a beautiful Christian woman named Emily to help Luke discover that there is more to search for than the perfect wave. Combining compelling cinematography and an upbeat soundtrack, Cutback is a faith-based story that earned The Dove Foundation's highest honor of five doves and is approved for ages 12 and over.

Dove Approved: 12 and over

Dove Worldview:
This is a tightly directed movie with some nice acting chops by the lead actor, Justin Schwan, who portrays Luke Harris, a young surfing high school senior who hangs out with his best friend, Casey Sanchez (Angel Cruz), doesn't get along with his dad, and who wants to make surfing his career and forego a college education. When Luke's mother introduces him to Pastor Shane (Danny Smith) and he meets a beautiful young Christian woman named Emily (Kelsey Sanders) he winds up moving further from God, not closer.\ But the people in his life have been placed there for a reason, and when tragedy strikes these very same people are the only ones who can ease Luke's pain. This is a quality production and I was drawn in to the story. I found myself wanting to know how it all would end before the movie hit its climax. A good story and good story-telling does that. The characters are nicely developed, something that you don't always see in films these days. The directors, Johnny Remo and Lance Bachelder, pull off a wonderful job with some nice surfing scenes and close-ups when appropriate to reflect a character's pain or frustration. The story is plausible and realistically done. We are most pleased to award our Dove "Family-Approved" Seal to this movie. It deals with life and death and the spiritual questions most people ask themselves and it throws in some humor to boot. What more would you want from a movie?

Content Description:
Sex: A young man and woman are interested in each other.
Language: Butt-1
Violence: A few disagreements between characters; a truck strikes a car and there is a resulting death.
Drugs: A character drinks beer and admits to being drunk but his lifestyle changes for the better later on.
Nudity: None
Other: Church services and conversations about God and the Bible; conversions; disagreements between a father and son and a man and his wife; a death of a major character; a young man disobeys and leaves his room despite being grounded; a father in anger says he doesn't care if his son's surf board came from the burning bush; a character calls a Christian girl "pathetic" but he changes; the term "Jesus Freak" is used.

"Life Changing!"
(Holly McClure, Holly on Hollywood)

"Wow! This movie is better than Soul Surfer because of the strong testimonial message. I recommend buying this!"
(J. M. - TN)

"A GREAT entertaining faith based film for the whole family. It will make you laugh and it will stir your heart."
(E.M. - VA)

"Awesome! Well worth buying. Cutback is great for the whole family to watch."
(C. D. - CO)

"Although the movie Soul Surfer was good, a dear friend recommended this film. I liked the story better and, just as my friend said, the message was life changing. Now I can recommend this film as well. Don't miss it!"
(P. T. - NC)