Directed by John Stockwell. 108 minutes.
Starring Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake, Mika Boorem, Matt Davis. Released by Universal Pictures.
If Blue Crush were a documentary or if the film is supposed to paint an accurate portrayal of surfers, then I would come to the conclusion that the sport of surfing is one of the most joyless and unpleasant undertakings that a young athlete may get himself involved in. However, being that I have seen countless movies very similar to this one, I know that the film does not accurately portray any particular type of people, except for those that seem to exist only in these specific types of sports dramas. You know the type. Such characters can only have one things on their minds (in that case, they hold striking similarities to the teenage characters in the sex comedies of recent years), which is, in this case, a sporting event and winning it. Therefore, when they begin to take interest in things outside of their specific goal, which, in this film, is a surfing competition, they are scrutinized by their peers, family, friends, etc, which is essentially what this film is about.
In the film, Kate Bosworth plays Anne-Marie, a Hawaiian local who skipped out on college to work as a maid with her best friends (Michelle Rodriguez and Sanoe Lake) in a hotel that seems to have the messiest patrons in film history (except for Mark Wahlberg’s character in Rock Star, who somehow managed to stick furniture on his hotel ceiling). In her free time, she heads to the beach with her two friends and younger sister, Penny (Mika Boorem), to surf. Though she is repeatedly reminded of her talent, Anne-Marie hesitates, at first, in taking part in the Pipe, a local surfing competition in which national surfing champions come to show off, while lesser knowns are given the opportunity to gain some recognition and get some sponsors. She is hesitant because of a surfing accident in which she was nearly killed several years back. The filmmakers, however, show no hesitancy in repeating a flashback of the incident again and again where we are fortunate enough to witness Anne-Marie bashing her head on an ocean floor rock in close-up. Thank God for small subtleties. Just as soon as our heroine is ready to take part in the competition, she meets a football player (Matt Davis) after cleaning up his filthy teammates’ room at the hotel and falls for him. Needless to say, Anne-Marie’s friends become upset at her growing dedication to her new love interest and declining dedication towards surfing. This is the basic setup for the film, which we all know will lead to a) the conflict between Anne-Marie, her friends, and her football player boyfriend and b) the “Big Surfing Competition,” which is a substitute for the “Big Game” or “Big Dance,” which we all know from such recent films as Varsity Blues or She’s All That, respectively.
I have nothing against films like Blue Crush, which is basically a female version of The Fast and the Furious (the producers of Fast also produced this movie). Orange County is a recent example of a film about teenage characters that have to “defeat the odds” in order to move on with their lives (in that film, the hero wanted to attend Stanford). The problem with Blue Crush is that it is too standard. Way too standard. It almost feels as if a board meeting were held between the filmmakers and producers to discuss how they could make their film be as “by the book” as possible. Every single sports cliché and motivational speech that is associated with these types of films makes its way into the story. For example, why must Anne-Marie’s love interest with the football player cause a conflict? Can she not have a boyfriend and be an athlete at the same time? It is obvious that the filmmakers wanted their lead character to have “the cards stacked against her” (I’m sorry to resort to using tired clichés, but when in Rome…), but one or two problems would suffice. Instead, she is parentless (her mother ran away with her new boyfriend to Las Vegas), she has to watch over her younger sister who seems to be following in her footsteps to her own chagrin, she has to choose between her friends and her new boyfriend, she is low on income, she gets fired from her job, etc. All of the typical sports drama speeches find their way into the screenplay as well. All of them. So, we get the “you don’t need a man to tell you what to do” speech, the “you need to go to school and make a better life” speech (aimed at her sister), the “you need to give full dedication to the competition and put your love life on hold” speech, the “when you were younger, you were the best of all of us” speech, the “you can go out there and win” speech, and so on and so forth. Some of our favorite teen drama clichés pop up as well in the film, including (but not limited to) the wealthy guy/struggling girl duo, the reckless younger sister/the focused older sister pair, and the good new boyfriend/bad ex-boyfriend conflict.
The film is the sophomore effort of director John Stockwell, whose crazy/beautiful got some decent reviews from critics last summer. I was not a big fan of the film. I found it to be somewhat clichéd as well, though there was some charm between the film’s leads, Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez. Charm is missing in action in the Matt Davis-Kate Bosworth relationship in Blue Crush, which seems to be a result of the screenwriter, filmmakers, and producers, rather than the actors. Though the film is simply a collage of overused plotlines, that is not to say that it is without its merits. Kate Bosworth, though given little to do in the screenplay, has pluck and energy. I hope that she is able to show off her talents better in future films with better storylines. Much of the ocean/surfing cinematography is quite impressive. On more than a few shots, I found myself thinking “how did they do that?” It is obvious that the director of photography on this film has talent. Some of the surfing sequences are exciting as well. Unfortunately, the film does not use said qualities to its benefit. The film does end, however, on a rather funny note, though it appears to be unintentional. After the “Big Competition” is over, Anne Marie’s picture appears on the cover of a surfing magazine that is accompanied by a headline that must have been overlooked by the film’s publicity department. Sometimes it’s the small things that make life interesting.