Meet my new hero: Jay Moriarty (Jonny Weston). Even as a lil dude, Jay was enamored with the ocean. So much so, that he was consumed by a big wave only to have his neighbor, Frosty (Gerard Butler), surf by to make a big save. From there, lil Jay pieced together a surfboard and begin tackling the real thing. Years later, Jay spots Frosty headed out to catch some early morning waves. He follows Frosty to find a little known and hidden area where the waves come in at Texan proportions. Jay is in and convinces Frosty to train him to ride these beasts. But wait, those whoppers are just the beginning. El Nino approaches and with it the promise of a Maverick--we're talking five story-high waves, baby. The training begins as Jay gets in touch with his inner self to tackle the elements of nature and yadayadayada...we get to know a real surfer and a tremendous human being.
It's good. I'll go with 4.0 Stars on this one. Actually, doing a little inventory midway through, I would have scored this one lower. Hang in there though, because it finishes strong and stays with you. Sure, at the halfway point you might be thinking, "Okay...this is a just flawed Miogi training Daniel--just swap a surf board for a karate belt--so where's it going?!?" You might even be thinking, "Why is Jay doing this? There's nothing at stake here. Why risk life and limb for nada?"
True on both counts; but there is much at work here. After all, when you look at the master-student relationship between Frosty and Jay, you're probably left with an unsavory opinion of the teacher. Actually, it seemed hypocritical to be taking lessons on 'connecting' from someone who is quite 'disconnected'. Jay truly has his act together. Sure, at times, he's got the ole immaturity of a 16 year old thing going for him, but he's shouldered a lot in his life. Meanwhile, Frosty seems to be distantly disconnected to his wife, kids and actually anything or one not in the ocean. The point on this front leads you to realize that reality is truly at work here. Frosty is molding and shaping Jay--helping him overcome a lot of his obstacles, while Frosty begins to embrace his own teachings to do the same. Good stuff. Wise stuff. Real stuff.
What about that second question? "Why is he doing this?" Having sat through a lot of movies, it's a legit question to pose. We have grown very much accustomed to a story that would have evolved toward a storyline of: Jay has to surf to win a competition and it's $10,000 prize in order to save the family home...or, Jay has to beat his bully of a competitor to forever prove his worth over that enemy. When neither elements emerged, it really through me. What we got, however, was real. First, we got to know someone who--if this is an accurate portrayal--was one tremendous human being. Yes, he got bullied. Yes, he was betrayed. Yes, he was disrespected. Was each negative turned into a Hollywood positive? No. Each negative was ignored, allowing compassion to be embraced with each incident. It didn't fight back. It didn't seek to get even. It didn't look to save face. Rather, it embraced and left you wondering if Jesus had come back as a surfer! Each incident was embraced with a compassionate and confident understanding that far exceeded your typical 16 year old.
With that, you just really fall in love with this character. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trading in my boogie board for a surfboard. I do, however, understand the connectedness that surfers feel with their environment.
Should you go Big? Hmm...there's a lot of depth here. If you can patiently wait for the break, you'll ride a sweet wave. You just need that Hollywood story to make the trip worthwhile, stay on the beach. This is good stuff, but you've got to be willing to connect with it to make it worth the time and dime.
True...OUT!
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