Blue Crush Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)August 16th, 2002
BLUE CRUSH (2002) 1 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake, Mika Boorem and Fazon Love. Based on the magazine article "Surf Girls of Maui" by Susan Orlean. Story by Lizzy Weiss. Screenplay by Weiss and John Stockwell. Directed by Stockwell. Rated PG-13.
Blue Crush is as predictable as the tides. It contains more clichés than there are waves in the ocean.
This by-the-numbers feature is pretty to look at, but devoid of any substance. But what can you expect from a movie based on a magazine article entitled “Surf Girls of Maui?”
Perhaps if the film carried that title, you would know what to expect. I guess the studio decided to call it Blue Crush because it sounded more dramatic. On the other hand, that title could conjure up a new soft drink variation.
The movie feels stitched together from stock situations and characters from other films. It is as if screenwriter Lizzy Weiss and John Stockwell, who also directed, were devoid of any original ideas.
It’s all here, the star athlete who must conquer her fears after a near-fatal accident; the rich boy-poor girl romance; the strong older sister as surrogate mother trying to keep her younger sibling in tow.
Blue Crush is like watching a rerun of something you’ve seen a dozen times before.
Admittedly, those into water sports will totally enjoy Blue Crush. The surfing sequences are dynamite, the cinematography outstanding.
Filmed on the North Shore of Oahu, Blue Crush revolves around Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), a former child surfing champ attempting a comeback in the Pipe Masters surf competition on the North Shore.
Aided by her best friends, Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake), as well as her younger sister, Penny (Mika Boorem), Anne Marie is training to get back into shape — physically and mentally — to ride the Pipeline's deadly waves.
To pay the rent, the three young women work as housekeepers at a luxury hotel, all the while trying to keep Penny in school.
Things get complicated when Ann Marie meets Matt Tollman (Matthew Davis), a star pro football quarterback, who with his team, is staying at the hotel.
No need to say anymore. You can probably guess the rest.
The performances in Blue Crush are minimal. This is a movie about the rush of surfing, and director of photography David Hennings takes the viewer on a thrill ride through some of the most awesome waves imaginable.
The actresses look fetching in their bikinis, the guys look hunky in their trunks. Who needs more?
Blue Crush is a fast-food film, a momentary enjoyment to be digested and forgotten by the next day.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on golafayette.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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