Blue Crush

from Film Forum, 08/22/02

It's hard to imagine what Movie Mask might do to the scantily clad heroes of John Stockwell's Blue Crush, a movie about surfer girls striving to make their mark in the sports world. But even religious critics are admitting that there is more to this surf flick than meets the eye. The human drama at the center is realistic and engaging—at least compared to other titles in the surfing genre. And everyone agrees: the waves are truly worth catching.

Holly McClure (Crosswalk) says, "I really enjoyed this movie for a lot of reasons but mostly because it introduces the sport of surfing as I've never seen it before. I also like the fact that the hero turns out to be a woman who gets her dream and her man! If you've ever been curious about surfing and you can't go to Hawaii to see the biggest waves in the world, do the next best thing and see this movie!"

Anne Navarro (Catholic News) writes, "Blue Crush is a movie about youthful exuberance with pseudo-profound dialogue about overcoming fear spoken by undemanding characters. The tension in the final scenes is milked for all it's worth, ending almost exactly as the moviegoer would expect anyway. The story dissolves from the mind as the pummeling wave does on the shore. But, oh, those waves."

Brian Shun (Movieguide) calls it "one of the better summer fun movies to grace the screen in a long while. The girls are not the stereotypical Barbie types that you would see in Baywatch; rather, their figures are more realistic, and lean more towards the sporty side as opposed to the bimbo side." Still, he adds a warning: "Viewers should exercise extreme caution due to the obscenities and images of implied fornication."

Not everyone was pleased. "Despite the positive messages about conquering fears and being true to your dreams," says Paul Bicking (Preview), Blue Crush sinks under vulgar vocabulary and misguided sexual messages."

Michael Elliott (Movie Parables) says, "Stockwell … deserves some credit for breathing a bit of new life into a genre which has never been accused of originality. With a fresh-faced, hard bodied cast and some magnificent camera work, Blue Crush uses the same formula as its predecessors but then layers it with a theme of female empowerment." But he adds, "While the film does have some positive things to say … we shouldn't approach it with the expectation of seeing behavior we would want our daughters to emulate."

Phil Boatwright calls the surfing "awesome," but he is worried that, although these female characters show considerable dedication to their work, they seem to be "exploiting their bodies in order to gain acceptance." He concludes with a caution. "Note to my younger readers: It's a natural desire to want to look at the opposite sex. And sexuality is certainly a driving force in this realm. But, because our culture is so dominated by sexual exploitation, maybe we should be careful about how often we expose ourselves to things sexual."

Steven Isaac (Focus on the Family) remarks he was surprised at the film's emphasis of the dangers that surfers face out there on the waves. He adds, "It's too bad other dangerous activities presented in the movie (sex and wild partying) aren't given as much scrutiny."

Mainstream critics celebrated the exhilarating cinematography, engaging performances, and the unusually compelling story.

But MaryAnn Johanson (Flick Filosopher) argued from a different point of view. "Blue Crush teases the hopeful girl critic for a while, misleading her into thinking it has something of substance to offer. Any girl trying to follow her bliss can identify. [But] it doesn't take long for the story of smart and tough women to devolve into a slick, simplistic washout, all beautiful cinematography and standard sports platitudes. 'When you fall off a wave, you gotta get right back on it again,' or something."