MOVIE REVIEW: BLUE CRUSH 2

You've probably seen the original Blue Crush ten times. You probably tried to braid your hair like Kate Bosworth. You probably ordered blueberry pancakes on the beach once, just to see. You may have even been inspired to grab a surfboard and see if you could brave the waves. Now there's Blue Crush 2, which is a little bit like Save The Last Dance 2 in that it's a made-for-TV format instead of a feature film, it's got new actors and characters with the same basic essence as the previous ones, and in some ways, though you'd never actually admit it in serious company, it's actually better. Here's why: Blue Crush 2 is a movie about girls surfing. There's very little guy drama, there's very little extraneous plot, and there's a lot of gorgeous, churning, underwater wave footage. The real emotions come from the fear, sisterhood, and elation that these girls get in the ocean. And the adventure through South Africa is a definite dream journey, in so many ways. The flick follows Dana (Sasha Jackson), a rich but drifting Malibu girl whose dead mother still haunts her dreams, and her surfing ambition. Using her mom's old journal as her travel guide, she heads back to the South African coast where her family first began surfing and begins to discover herself and her roots. Along the way, she meets Pushy (Elizabeth Mathis), a plucky township local determined to become a professional athlete, and Tara (Sharni Vinson), the prickly captain of the reigning Roxy South Africa team. Halfway through the movie, the characters drop most of their dialogue and drive across South Africa in a giant, beat-up, Grateful Dead schoolbus. That's when the film really takes off, and you start to get incredibly jealous of these women, their bond, and the fact that on their way to a wave they see a pack of elephants instead of a Taco Bell. Blue Crush 2 will never win any Oscars and wouldn't look too surprising on a basic cable lineup. But its incredible surfing footage, its glorious glimpse into South Africa, and its emphasis on community and support instead of girl fights and salvation boyfriends makes it a very worthwhile chick flick.

Blue Crush 2, Available now on iTunes!