Lighten up! It's an xtreme sport thrill ride, not a Film

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2002)

Surfing is another planet and I loved the visit during Blue Crush. The Blonde in a Bikini wants to win the big surfing competition. She's competitive but inhibited by physical fear after a terrifying accident. She's distracted by family obligations and a Cinderella romance with a football Prince Charming. Will she take the easy out and let her mentor down or will she overcome? It's a heroine instead of a hero so the physical fear and the temptation to be validated by romance instead of accomplishment are culturally acceptable. The mentor is another young woman - probably the most original thing about the film - well played by Rodriguez. The setup is realistic in many ways. The bodacious surfer girls live in a dump and work as maids in a hotel. It is demeaning, tacky labor but so what? Their real life is "laying pipe" in that magnificent surf. The wave scenes are so beautiful and exciting they eclipse all the rest, including the loose ends and schlock humor in the script.
A final tribute: I never imagined living for something so trivial as catching a wave, now I get it.