2002, PG-13, 104 minutes

I wish more movies aiming at the teen demographic were like Blue Crush, offering characters that actually have character as opposed to being little more than composites of the same old cliches. This, combined with a mostly care-free, beach bum attitude and some genuinely convincing surfing scenes, makes for a better film than you might expect.

Kate Bosworth, who I had never heard of before this movie, reveals a lot of charisma and screen presence in the role of Anne Marie, a young woman in her twenties who lives to surf but fears she may die doing what she loves. And while Bosworth is clearly a star in the making (and cute to boot), what ultimately makes Blue Crush worth seeing is that it focuses on the waves rather than the relationships and all of that other crap we've seen a million times.

Thanks in part to some impressive cinematography, Blue Crush makes 10 to 20 foot waves as powerful and intimidating as they are in real life, and is by far the most accurate re-creation of the surfing experience to ever reach the screen. The one drawback is that the story doesn't have enough to chew on at times, and when it introduces a choice for our heroine between money and what you love and who you are, it is clearly buying time so there's enough of a build-up before the big surfing competition. This is forgivable because at least the characters are interesting; in fact, they are the reason to keep watching as opposed to ogling attractive young women (not that this isn't an option). If you think about it, it's truly amazing for a modern Hollywood movie to feature both surfing and girls in bikinis without managing to exploit either one of them (and yes, surfing is often exploited by stupid, stereotypical films). Ultimately, Blue Crush is the kind of good, light-hearted movie that's perfect for a summer evening.