Blue Crush Review
by David N. Butterworth (dnb AT dca DOT net)August 22nd, 2002
BLUE CRUSH
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 2002 David N. Butterworth
*** (out of ****)
It sounds like something you'd get from a 7-11 with a straw in it but "Blue Crush" is the name of an extremely satisfying, stunningly photographed B-movie based on a magazine article with the much more descriptive title of "Surf Girls
of Maui." Anne Marie, Eden, and Lena live with Anne Marie's younger sister Penny in a beach hut in Hawaii (Mom took off to Vegas with a guy but we don't get into that too much). The three older girls work as maids at a prestigious oceanfront hotel simply to make ends meet. Their true love is surfing, however,
and Anne Marie has become so good at it she stands an excellent chance of making
the cover of "Surfing" magazine (not to mention the fact that the Pipe Masters surf competition is headed their way, and Anne Marie is one of the few women who has what it takes to ride the death-defying pipe). Will a near-fatal experience
from three years back, as well as her current distraction courtesy a vacationing
pro-quarterback (played by Matthew Davis), stand in Anne Marie's way? There are a lot of predictable moments in actor-turned-director John Stockwell's film
(he made the promising "Crazy/Beautiful" with Kirsten Dunst last year) and these
moments are well acted by a competent cast, especially the three young women who play Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), Eden (Michelle Rodriguez), and Lena (Sanoe
Lake). But these narrative sequences serve mainly to move the action to the water where, unless you wait for this movie to show up on DVD (suggestion: don't!),
you're in for some of the most spectacular surfing sequences ever put on film. The water is blue, the waves are tidal, and the camerawork/editing is spectacular.
"Blue Crush" makes you feel like you're right there hanging ten with the best of them and, like that convenience store frozen beverage, it's an exhilarating cool blue rush.
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David N. Butterworth
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
