Simple but engaging
story makes for
a smooth ‘Ride’

CATCH "THE RIDE": It's rare to find a locally produced film that compares favorably with mainstream national releases, but "The Ride" is one such rarity. Producer/director/writer Nathan Kurosawa tells a simple but engaging story about a cocky modern-day surfer who awakens from a near-death experience to find that he's back in 1911 and the man who saved his life is Duke Kahanamoku. Kurosawa says he was thinking "television movie" when he wrote it and kept the story and dialogue clean and simple, but a scene in which Lehua (Mary Paalani) asks the surfer (Scot Davis) what the future holds for Hawaii is as effective and compelling as the work in any blockbuster. Catch "The Ride" this week at Wallace Theatres Restaurant Row ...

INTERESTING PEOPLE: Lanai reports he's lost 40 pounds this year by going on a strict fish and vegetable diet, working out eight minutes a day and avoiding food after 4 p.m. Says it's part of a cleansing process that's helping him recover from exposure to toxic levels of mercury, lead and DDT while he was growing up on the island of Lanai. The 98.5 "Island Rhythms" star advises anyone from Lanai who now has chronic health problems to "get a blood test." For more information, call Lanai at 550-9200 ... Rock 'n' roll bassist Tommy Vee was the real deal Friday when he and his brother, drummer Jeff Vee, flew in from Iraq to back their father, Bobby Vee, and three other acts in the "Show of Stars" at Blaisdell Arena. Switching from electric bass to acoustic "stand-up" bass during his father's set, Vee didn't just play the instrument and spin it around a few times, but also played while climbing on it, lying under it, sprawling on top of it, holding it upside down, and behind his back. Vee said afterward he held back a little because it was a borrowed instrument, and gave credit to Bill Haley and His Comets for introducing high-energy bass playing to rock 'n' roll more than 50 years ago ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Don Ho and Makapu Ho'opii of Ekolu, who are celebrating tomorrow ... Also to Shari Lynn (Saturday), Nona Beamer (Sunday), John Rampage (Monday) and Kawika Kanae (Tuesday) ...

GET THIS GIRL TO VEGAS!: Elaine Codilla, Hawaii's sexiest nightclub security supervisor, will add "pageant queen" to her resume if she can find the sponsors she needs to compete in the First Miss Palms Hotel Pageant in Las Vegas later this month. Lance Rae is helping her search for funding ...