A gonzo tribute to a gonzo surfer
A film on a renowned ’ 70s surfer with destructive rock star aspirations who was heir to a sugar dynasty and the stepson of Clark Gable might sound like something that could have come only from the imagination of the brothers Coen or Farrelly.
But as board legends Laird Hamilton and Tony Alva can attest, Bunker Spreckels was the real deal — a true original who was as entertainingly gonzo as “Bunker77,” the doc that affectionately pays tribute to his brief but eventful life.
The charismatic Adolph Bernard Spreckels III was about 6 when his mom, Kay, married Gable.
While “Bunker” Spreckels’ penchant for combining surfing with psychedelic drugs would ultimately catch up with him, for a while, his dogged pursuit of decadence and lust for reinvention would take him on a Zelig- like odyssey.
Infusing his f ilm with a scrappy surf punk energy, director Takuji Masuda combines fresh interviews and impressive wave- riding footage with extensive audio of Spreckels in conversation with journalist C. R. Stecyk III, all playfully linked together by Gable movie clips.
Tragically yet f ittingly, given his obsession with image- projection, Spreckels died in 1977 ( from morphine poisoning) at age 27, just like rock icons Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison before him.
“Bunker77.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena.