Old Stuff
Blue Crush (2002)
Directed by John Stockwell
Is there anything cooler or crazier than someone riding a surfboard on top of a mountain of churning water? That's the central question and strength of "Blue Crush", a movie that can best be described as a "surfer-chick flick". The story centers on Kate Bosworth as her character tries to face down the demons that haunt her after a near fatal encounter with a monster wave on one of Hawaii's jagged reef-ringed beaches. She wants to compete with the boyz but her tough talk is being eclipsed by nagging fear. She relives her accident repeatedly in her dreams like any sufferer of post traumatic stress disorder. A monster wave competition is approaching and, instead of "riding the pipe", she bobs in the surf like a cork. As each big wave passes, she thinks the next one will be the one that will wash away her doubt and magically turn her into a rich, surf-riding god.
That's the good stuff in "Blue Crush". The not so good involves a love-interest subplot with a NFL quarterback that derails the movie a bit. Kate and her friends (Michelle Rodriguez and Sanoe Lake) have shit-jobs (literally) cleaning up rooms at an expensive hotel that a football team is staying in. The jocks wind up paying the surfer chicks to teach them how to ride some baby waves. Predictably, a romance quickly develops between the quarterback (Matthew Davis) and Kate.
There's the suggestion that Kate might prefer the life of a trophy wife of a NFL quarterback to that of a fucked-in-the-head, wanna-be surfer. The two of them have barely achieved "one night stand" status, what's up with the major relationship drama? "Blue Crush" is much better when it sticks to the surf and an athlete's quest to exceed the limits she has set for herself. The film gets a little too earnest in its pursuit of a feminist message and it comes off as being forced, in particular, with some really bad dialogue.
Supposedly, a magazine article about the women's surfing scene inspired "Blue Crush" and because of this assertion I have some questions about the depiction of the surfer-chick lifestyle. I admit that I know as much about surfing as I do ice curling but are male surfers really that antagonistic toward incredibly beautiful female surfers? It seems implausible to me. Wouldn't they view these women as potentially perfect partners? Don't they leave their competitiveness where it belongs, in competition? Not to mention that there's no direct competition between men and women surfers.
Do men even have a real advantage in surfing? Again, I don't claim to know the sport but it seems to me that women would be better at it than men. Isn't it mostly about balance? Physical strength is necessary but a female athlete's center of gravity is waist level and a male's is shoulder level. Wouldn't a lower center of gravity on a surfboard be more stable? What do I know?
Over all, the movie worked. It got me hooked on surfing. It also got me wondering how do those chicks keep those tiny bikinis from being torn off by the surf? Must be some of that old movie magic. "Blue Crush" is a fun summer flick that avoids tons of digital effects for something a little more real. Plus, once again, I get to sit for a couple hours staring like a mental patient at frickin' beautiful women. I'm not complaining.It's nothing new, just an entertaining summer movie. -- Rating: $5.50
Tom Graney -- copyright 2002 Hollywood Outsider