When a film's not even two minutes old and the lead character, a feisty young female surfer, has written a mantra of "Train Hard! Go Big!" in red lipstick on her mirror, it's a pretty safe bet that what follows isn't going to be an exercise in cinematic subtlety. That proves to be the case with Blue Crush, a defiant but rather toothless teenage chick surf movie in which the lessons learnt from a thousand other rites of passage flicks are rehashed with reckless abandonment.
The girl on the lipstick binge is Anne-Marie (Bosworth), a talented surfer from Hawaii. Things aren't too peachy for our heroine - her mother has disappeared with a boyfriend, leaving Anne-Marie to look after her troublesome younger sister, as well as holding down a chambermaid job. Anne's Marie's also been invited to compete in a major surfing competition and although she's desperate to prove herself against the world's best, a crisis of confidence threatens her chances. As if all of this wasn't enough, along rambles a hunky American football player (Davis) whom she agrees to teach to surf. I don't think you need me to tell you what happens next.
Far too long, thinly dramatised and more than a little repetitive, Blue Crush doesn't do throw too many surprises at its audience. Admittedly, there are moments - most of them featuring the sassy Michelle Roderiguez - when Blue Crush threatens to cut loose of the teenage movie cliches and become something vaguely interesting. But, like his lead actor, director John Stockwell flatters to deceive and only the extraordinary cinematography, putting you at the very heart of the wave, redeems Blue Crush. Only a bit, mind you.
