Naturalism with a Purpose--Nice try, Folks!

Rating: Null/10 (27 August 2002)

The script of Blue Crush has left some reviewers in a state of utter confusion. Whether 'tis nobler to show the travails of hotel maids cleaning up vomit, feces, and used condoms without remark or complaint, or to let the ladies give voice to their consternation and speak up...albeit at peril to their monthly incomes, now, THAT is the question. I did not find this bit of consciousness-raising to be the least bit hokey, for it would be stranger yet that a gaggle of gung-ho athletic women would accept men's crap (literally) without a single effort at self-assertion.
Of course, we are not dragged into that hell of daily drudgery until we first witness the awesome spectacle of "surfing the pipe", a deliberate visit to the inside of a tornado of water, the conquest of which leads our heroines to do whatever it takes, for the sake of their sport. Unlike other pro athletes, whose sport attracts bets from gamblers, and who can haul in six-figure incomes on their names alone, these pro surfriders' sole income derives from sportswear sponsors who pay to have their products demonstrated in public. Tiger Woods may get a chunk of change for wearing the Nike Swoosh at his performances...but these gals have to be sponsored...or else...pay their own way.
Thanks, writers and producers, for some quality time with real athletes who engage in a sport for, well, the sport of it. Equestrienne Kate Bosworth makes a great transition from a real-life jockette who has fallen off a few saddles and hit the ground with a thud, to portray a character who imitates a drowned rat just as well as any surfer, or any trainee from the Naval Special Warfare School, for that matter. (Wendy, why didn't you write Gov. Jesse Ventura into your script? He'd probably have gotten a kick out of showing the Minnesota voters what SEAL training really teaches a person about water, high surf, and seamanship!).
Now I'll go back to the latest news about the baseball contract negotiations, and get my barf bag ready for the next millionaire's complaint about his stingy billionaire team owner...and no, I don't plan to leave the contents laying around for someone else to clean up!