Side Out

Side Out is a 1990 American comedy-drama sports film about a beach volleyball competition. It stars actors like C. Thomas Howell, Peter Horton, Harley Jane Kozak, and Courtney Thorne-Smith. This movie was the last one made by Aurora Productions because many of their films did not do well.

Many real professional beach volleyball players had roles in the movie. For example, Randy Stoklos, a five-time world champion, played a main character named Rollo Vincent. Other players included Sinjin Smith, who also won five world championships, and Olympic gold medalist Kent Steffes. The film also featured Steve Timmons, who won two Olympic gold medals in indoor volleyball, and Mike Dodd, a five-time champion at the Manhattan Beach Open.

The term “side-out” refers to an old way of scoring in volleyball. Back then, only the team serving could win a point. Now, a side-out simply means the team that was receiving gets to serve after winning a point. Since 1999, most volleyball games use rally scoring, where the team that wins a rally gets the point, no matter who is serving. This change helped make games shorter and more exciting for fans to watch.

Plot

Monroe Clark moves to California to study law. At the airport, he meets Wiley Hunter, who gives him a ride to his uncle Max’s house. Max asks Monroe to give some people notices to leave their homes or pay rent by 6 o’clock.

Monroe tries to give these notices but loses his suitcase when he meets Zack Barnes. He meets Samantha, who helps him get his suitcase back. Wiley shows Monroe how to enjoy life and introduces him to beach volleyball. Monroe forgets his deadline but later tries to give Zack the notice again. A fight breaks out, and Monroe takes Samantha on a date, though he must admit he lied about whose house they are at.

After losing a volleyball game, Zack agrees to coach Monroe and Wiley. They train hard for a big tournament called the Gold Cuervo Classic. Monroe changes his mind about Zack and decides to follow his own dreams instead of becoming a lawyer. They work together, face challenges, and in the end, Monroe and Zack win the tournament. The movie ends with them celebrating their victory.

Cast

Here are the main actors and the characters they played in the film:

• C. Thomas Howell as Monroe Clark
• Peter Horton as Zack Barnes
• Courtney Thorne-Smith as Samantha
• Harley Jane Kozak as Kate Jacobs
• Christopher Rydell as Wiley Hunter
• Terry Kiser as Uncle Max
• Randy Stoklos as Rollo Vincent
• Sinjin Smith as Billy Cross
• Tony Burton as Louie
• Kathy Ireland as Marie
• Martha Velez as Mrs. Salazar
• Felicity Waterman as flight attendant

Release

The film came out in cinemas in the United States on March 30, 1990. Later that year, it was available on VHS and LaserDisc. Outside the United States, the film went straight to video.

It was released on DVD in 2004 and then reissued as a print-on-demand version in 2014. In December 2021, a Blu-ray version of the film was announced for release on February 22, 2022.