BLUE CRUSH (2002)  **1/2

Reviewed 8/16/02

BLUE CRUSH looks like it could be a teen exploitation beach movie with ample opportunities to ogle the lead actresses in skimpy bikinis.  It turns out to be a relatively serious, level-headed drama that attempts to do for surfing what BREAKING AWAY did for bicycling.  Only BLUE CRUSH’s ambition always remains just outside the grasp of its mediocrity.

After suffering from a near-fatal surfing accident three years ago, once-promising prodigy Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) has yet to recover the fearlessness and confidence she needs to compete in the big contest a week away.  After her mother ran off to Las Vegas, Anne Marie continues to live in Hawaii with younger sister Penny (Mika Boorem) as well as her childhood surfing rival and now trainer Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and their goofy friend Lena (Sanoe Lake).  Anne Marie, Eden, and Lena scrimp out a meager living as maids in the enormous hotel nearby.  Eden pushes Anne Marie hard in training in the hopes of gaining fame and fortune, but rebellious Penny and a new flame in pro-football quarterback Matt (Matthew Davis) prove major distractions to Anne Marie’s discipline.  The biggest disruption of all however is her own inability to believe she can win.

Based off of Susan Orleans’ magazine article “Surf Girls of Maui,” co-writer Lizzy Weiss and co-writer and director John Stockwell give the film more thoughtfulness than typical for the sports movie genre.  They are quite conscious of class issues between the girls and their environment, and they convey compassion and understanding for even the minor characters (there is no real villain).  Unfortunately, most of the characters, both lead and subordinate, are awfully bland personality-wise.  They may be extended greater complexity than the usual stock figures, but none of them feel really alive.

Smart enough to know what is expected of the genre, Stockwell makes plot points a little more nuanced (Anne Marie’s competitors aren’t evil cutthroats) and complicated (Matt isn’t just a dumb jock).  While this is admirable, most of the time the execution feels more like clever calculation rather than artistic inspiration.  Stockwell directs with too much of an eye toward a slick Hollywood veneer and toward high-powered editing to enamor the MTV generation, and he stumbles when it comes to the quieter moments.  The dialogue also doesn’t escape from hokey clichés.   Stockwell manages to make the movie different from but not a whole lot better than going the rote generic route.

Much of the movie meanders as much as Anne Marie’s discipline toward training, but a shot of adrenaline is injected in the last twenty minutes during the big surfing contest.  The surfing sequences are impressive with the camera bobbing above and below water capturing what it is like to be there except without the cold and the salt.   Part of the pleasure of watching surfing is seeing how long the surfer can sustain her ride on the wave, and BLUE CRUSH almost never leaves a shot alone long enough to get that feel.  Still, Stockwell gets some amazing footage.  Each crashing wave looks bigger than the Titanic and gets across both the beauty and insanity of the endeavor.