WATCH NOW
Blue Crush” has something to teach its audience that most surfing movies ignore: the fact that so many non-professional surfers work mundane jobs to support their surfing lifestyle. In layman’s terms, they forget about life’s troubles when they are out riding the waves. Previously in films, surfers are stereotyped as golden boys or girls who bask in the sun and abundant melodies sung by The Beach Boys. In “Blue Crush,” we are introduced to three Hawaiian surfer girls who, unlike other Hawaiian girls, are employed as housekeepers in a hotel, live in a shabby boarding house, and are bringing up their older sister’s love child. They are nearly impoverished, yet somehow manage to look fantastic. There’s nothing worse a bikini and a tan can’t solve, even class distinctions.
These women are Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth), Eden (Michelle Rodriguez), and Lena (Sanoe Lake) Anne Marie surfed competitively three years ago in Oahu, Hawaii but almost drowned, leaving her mentally scarred. She is now trying to get back into the sport with the help of her friends. Surfing is only one aspect of their lives; the women also work all day as maids in a luxurious hotel and get to surf for fun at the end of the day. Anne Marie has been raising Penny (Mika Booren) since her mother left, which means she often has to pick Penny up from school and then never seems to get there on time.
The film is inspired by reporter Susan Orlean’s magazine story “Surf Girls of Maui,” akin to Nik Cohn’s piece that gave rise to “Saturday Night Fever.” Each of these narratives follows the journeys of working-class youths who indulge in their passions’ hobbies, escaping it’s harsh reality. They express wonder when they see renowned female surferes fueling their vehicles at a gas station they happen to stop at while en route to a competition in Hawaii. Like it was for Tony Manero in “Saturday Night Fever”, romance tends to be much more interesting than her job for Anne Marie. It may be true that she stands to earn some good cash as a pro surfing team, but she also, like Manero, has other interests that keep her occupied outside of just work. Everyone can see that she’s not a one-track career horse.
While the surfing sequences in the movie are breathtaking, they are also very familiar to the audience considering the very first ever ‘surf’ movie “The Endless Summer” (1966) by Bruce Brown. The hotel sequences, however, are a breath of fresh air with its rawness. We are taken to the room of a wealthy woman where three maids deal with the aftermath of a lavish party hosted by pro football players and begin to try on the overpriced swim suits.
Having the pride of a professional woman, Anne Marie famously got herself fired for storming onto the beach to teach a large football lineman the appropriate method for putting a used condom in a Kleenex. She has the practicality of a working woman, too, like when she tells the others not to resign out of sympathy because they still need to pay the rent.
The quarter back, Matt Tollman, played by Matthew Davis, asks Anne Marie out on a date, which she reluctantly agrees to, even after talking about the non-fraternization policies. She starts developing a crush on him, but is conflicted about the romance. Is it a vacation romance or does it mean something? Though he seems considerate and attentive, it begs the question if this is all just a facade. The film captures reality well. Anne Marie hopes for a vacation romance, but she is not willing to risk getting hurt for it.
Eden is more shadowy and skeptical compared to her friend, as we remember Michelle Rodriguez’s role as an amateur boxer in ‘Girlfight’ (2000). She’s worried when her friend starts spending too much time with the quarterback and not enough time getting ready for the inevitable competition. (‘Some guy thinks you look good in a bikini and you forget all about the contest.’) And of course the film climaxes in the traditional way, with amazing battles and surfing and all the requisite blood and sweat. Even here, it doesn’t settle for what we thought was the predictable outcome.
“Blue Crush” was directed by John who did “Crazy/Beautiful” (2001) in which Dunst has a character who is a congressman’s rebel daughter and dates a responsible Mexican American. Here we have an equally carefree American Anglo and the Latino gentleman watching out for her, but with a twist. When I saw the “Blue Crush” posters with Bosworth, Rodriguez, and Lake posing in bikinis and holding surfboards, I was expecting yet another mindless trip to the ocean. But “Blue Crush” is anything but.
To watch more movies like (Blue Crush (2002)) visit 123Movies.
