Surf and Surface

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2002)

The ocean is deeper than the plotting in this MTV-style paean to surfing (and going for your dream, bucking the odds, yadda yadda), but as empty summer movies go, it has a pleasing working-class grit and credibility. Our plucky heroine comes from a believably broken home and has a credibly taxing bratty little sister, not to mention a sullen best friend/trainer who feels betrayed when our surfer girl forsakes hanging ten for hanging with a hunky NFL quarterback (OK, it's not THAT believable). The story is an agreeable time-passer that doesn't take up too much space between the spectacular surfing sequences, and the happy ending isn't so happy that credibility wipes out, a la "Rocky." There's some annoying comic "relief," and the movie isn't exactly psychologically complex, but if all you want is to extend your summer for a couple of hours while looking at pretty people and pretty Hawaiian beaches, you could do a lot worse.