Hang 10!

Rating: Null/10 (18 August 2002)

When I first saw the ads for Blue Crush, I thought it'd basically be Bring it On in Hawaii, on surfboards. Instead it's an entertaining movie about a girl overcoming her anxiety of defeat.
Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) was a former hopeful in the world of amateur surfing, she backed out after a near drowning incident, and is trying to get back into competition. She is the sole caretaker of her 14 year old rebellious sister, Penny (Mika Boorem). Anne and her two friends Eden and Lena (played by Michelle Rodriguez and Sanoe Lake) work as hotel maids to scrape up enough rent for their beach home. The film pays respect to hotel maids by showing the disgusting things they must clean up after, from backed up toilets to the party-trashed rooms of NFL players, who are currently residing there. Anne eventually has a fling with the quarterback (Matthew Davis). All of these problems in Anne's life are not there to take over the story, just show some of the causes of Anne's anxiety.
Kate Bosworth does well as Anne Marie, the budding relationship between her and Matthew Davis is charming and believable, but thankfully does not take over the plot of the story. Michelle Rodriguez for the most part, gives up her usual tough girl role to play more of a coach to Kate's character. Sanoe Lake, the pro surfer turned actress, is surprisingly good in this film, considering this is her first gig. And Mika Boorem is charming as the rebellious younger sister.
The main highlight of the movie is the amazing footage of the surfing. I have never been to Hawaii, and I probably won't get there very soon, so seeing people tackle 20 foot tall waves is breathtaking. The camera work show how it must feel to surf one of these monsterous waves, and what it feels like to be crushed by one. There are a lot of 3rd person shots inside the waves that make me scratch my head and wonder how they did that. This is definately one of the reasons to see this movie.
The best surprise of the movie is that it may be along the lines of a typical sports story plot, it does not have the ending I predicted it would. And although there is a group of sexist male island boys who are very annoying (although their time in the film is short) the movie is not about the girl surfer beating them and proving that women are equal. In other words, this is not a giant, blatant, advertisement for female empowerment.
I recommend seeing this film, the plot my not be the most original, but it has a surprise or two and works well. Plus, 20 foot tall waves, c'mon, how often do you see those everyday?