STARS: Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake, Matthew Davis, Mika Boorem.

STORY

I’m happy to report that there is a story here - nice and simple. Rich jock boy meets poor surfer girl, girl gives boy surf lessons, girl and boy fall in love, friends of girl are angry with girl for allowing boy to distract her from upcoming pipeline competition. You see, girl is potential rookie champion, but girl’s past is making her scared. Still - I admit I got into the flow of things with the help of the beautiful backdrop of Oahu, and the great visuals created for this film. The girl, Anne Marie, is played by Kate Bosworth, and her acting has some depth to it; she’s got charisma, which helped keep me watching. Quite a few local surfers strut their stuff in this, and there are some cameos by big name female surfers too - Keala Kennelly, Rochelle Ballard, Layne Beachley, Megan Abudo and our own Kate Scarratt. I didn’t realise until I was told in the extras, but Kate Bosworth’s face was inevitably superimposed over Rochelle Ballard’s body for the more difficult sequences. Silly me - it all makes sense now, Kate’s an actress, not a professional surfer! They did a good job blurring the distinction.

The film portrays the surfie culture as a tight-knit community that you can’t just blend in with - you’re either a part of it entirely or you’re not. This creates an interesting tension when the romance kicks in. The film’s producer, a surfer himself, points out that this is a reality - at least on Oahu. He claims that rigid rules underpin the process of riding the waves, and that breaking these rules can end in real aggression. Also - don’t bother asking a surfer where to get the best waves - apparently you won’t be told anything - great locations are for the surfie network only, not `tourists’! Now that’s loyalty to one’s clan! I guess I can believe that. As a way of life, it’s interesting. Getting up at the crack of dawn to chase waves, glued to the latest surf reports. It’s gotta be better than being stuck behind a desk all day. I’ll leave the dangerous surf to the professionals, though - give me a boogie board and some baby waves at Jan Juc any day. Just a final note to reinforce how dangerous professional surfing is - the credits listed lots of lifeguards for the production, and - wait for it - a chiropractor. Wild or what!

EXTRAS

There’s the usual: scene selection, trailer, language selection (English or Magyar), and subtitle selection (English or Magyar).

There’s also many extras. Two feature commentaries (one with director John Stockwell, one with the principal cast; Kate, Michelle and Sanoe), a 14 minute `making of’, deleted scenes, a DVD-ROM feature, and a Lenny Kravitz film clip “If I Could Fall In Love With You” from the film. Also lots of 5 minute snippets of information about the production, excess surfing footage and a crash course in surfie jargon. I watched all but the feature commentaries, most extras giving you the option of commentary on/off, which was novel. Any surfers watching these would probably turn the commentary off and marvel at the wipeouts and hot bodies. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

OVERALL

This was a more enjoyable film than I expected considering I’ve never surfed in my life. It’s not just about surfing - it’s one of those inspirational stories about following your dreams, especially if you’re a female! The plot is thin, but it works, surprisingly - hey - I had low expectations! The amazing 5.1 sound of pounding Hawaiian surf is a great workout for your audio system, and a good soundtrack helps pace the film for what I suspect is it’s target audience - teens. If you’re into surfing, or young, fit bodies, or surfing, then get this DVD. I want the soundtrack now, and I’m seriously tempted to go watch some surf comps at Bell’s Beach this summer as I have a newfound respect for the dangers faced by world class competitors in this sport. By the way - widescreen presentation means there’s some fabulous visuals to be had, and I don’t just mean the bodies.