Blue Crush
2 out of 5 stars
R E V I E W   B Y   R I C H   C L I N E
feel the rush, take the risk This rather chaotic film at least features nice surfing footage! The story is essentially Rocky recast with a female surfer, right down to the "Yo Adrian!" finale. Anne Marie (Bosworth) is a champion surfer who, after a nasty accident, has become afraid of competition. But her loyal friends (Rodriguez and Lake) and her perky little sister (Boorem) try to encourage her to make a comeback at the impending championships. Along the way, she's distracted by trouble on the job as a hotel maid, as well as by a budding romance with a star football player (Davis).

Alas, the film is pretty bad on almost every level, from the appallingly trite script to the extremely badly edited surfing action sequences. You can see every join between actor and stunt surfer, and Stockwell shoots each surfing scene from every conceivable angle, many of which look very cool, although when edited so harshly they fail to let you see what's going on in any meaningful way. The actors are very nearly edited out of the film as well; their characters are undemanding cardboard cutouts--illogical and impenetrable--so there's not much even a good actor like Rodriguez can do with it. Some of the plot elements are just ridiculous, most notably the entire final competition sequence. But at least everyone looks great in his or her designer swimwear! And the Hawaiian beaches and waves are pretty spectacular. You just wish it had been more competently filmed, because then at least the surfing would distract you from the derivative, banal storyline.

cert 12 language, innuendo, violence 26.Dec.02

dir John Stockwell
scr Lizzy Weiss, John Stockwell
with Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Mika Boorem, Sanoe Lake, Chris Taloa, Kala Alexander, Ruben Tejada, Kaupena Miranda, Asa Aquino, Faizon Love, George Veikoso
release US 16.Aug.02; UK 4.Apr.03
Universal
02/US 1h44

Hang ten, dude! Anne Marie teaches her hunky new boyfriend how to catch the waves (Davis and Bosworth)...

bosworth rodriguez davis
R E A D E R   R E V I E W S
send your review to Shadows... feel the rush, take the risk "While not a 'great film', this offers a peak at a romantic American lifestyle - surfers - with an added new twist - surfer girls. It is a lifestyle only the young can imagine - working at a minimum wage job, living a hand-to-mouth existence and spending all your time trying to get good at something that will probably never pay off. But it is something you love, and only love with a member of the opposite sex can come between our heroine and her true calling. It is a film that manages to portray young women in bikinis in the least exploitive manner possible. The outdoor and surfing cinematagrophy are magnificent and the musical score is a testament to the virtues of rap, raggae and everything in between. If this flick doesn't make you want to book the next flight to Hawaii, nothing will. Awesome, dude!" --Steve, Washington DC 9.Mar.03

"An excellent watch. Especially if your love of the cinema gets as far as slushy girly films and then gets stuck there. Surfer chicks meet Coyote Ugly." --Beverly, Barrow in Furness 15.Mar.03

© 2002 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

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