Good for what is it

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 2002)

Let's face it, surf movies don't exactly make for Oscar-worthy drama, so I for one went to the theater expecting lots of surfing and lots of beach-bum-babes. The good news is this movie is much more than a 2-hour episode of Baywatch.
Yeah, there's plenty of hot chicks, but they aren't on a Sport Illustrated Swimsuit photoshoot here, they're serious surfers. The lead character, Anne-Marie, has some serious issues to deal with. In addition to overcoming the trama of nearly drowning in a surfing competition, she working for minimum-wage as a maid for a fancy Oahu hotel, and struggling to take care of her rebelious little sister and pay the bills. (It's kind of funny how this movie paralells Lilo and Stitch).
But who cares about the back story? This movie's about surfing, and surfing you will get. The camera work is great, you can almost feel the 20 foot waves crashing down on you. Don't listen to the people who say wait for the video, because your tv isn't going to portray the intensity and mass of the waves. If you're even somewhat interested in seeing it, you have to see it in the theater.
So while the non-surfing portions are pretty cliche and forgettable, the surfing is awesome, so at least see a matinee.