Well cut my tail and color me flibberty-flabbled!

Rating: Null/10 (17 August 2002)

Like a lot of people, I thought Blue Crush would be pretty putrid. It looked very similar to a Disney Channel Original Movie called Motocrossed, in which a girl tries to infiltrate the male-dominated sport of bike racing. I'm not saying Blue Crush ripped-off Disney. I just think it's funny that I've seen an entire DC Original Movie. Pray for me, my children. Anyway, it turns out that while light in story and character development, the stunning oceanic cinematography really saved the day here. I could watch those foaming, crushing waves all day, and some of the camera tricks were really creative. Whouda thunk? But we obviously can't spend ALL of our time out on the water, so there is a simple story here about a girl who used to be the greatest gal surfer on the beach, but after a near-drowning accident she's lost her spirit. Sound familiar, sports movie fans? She lives with two friends and her younger sister in the perfect beach bum shack, living from paycheck to paycheck by working as a maid in the nearby fancy hotel. There's a rich love interest, a sub-plot about the kid sister smoking, but none of it really goes anywhere. Everything really depends on the Big Surfing Contest at the end of the film, where if our heroine wins she will get all kinds of sponsorship and realize her dream of putting female surfing on the cover of every magazine. This inevitable showdown is really handled well, and I genuinely rooted for the girl as she tried to catch the perfect wave. My only problems revolve around the expend- able boyfriend and sister characters, who don't really do anything except spout out lines like, "Belive in yourself. You can do it!" I say spend more time on the three lead chicks or just take the surfing footage by itself and make an IMAX film. Now that would be cool. ***/**** P.S. I loved the fat football player. He was hilarious!