Soul Surfer
Director: Sean McNamara
Cast: AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid
Rated: PG
Running time: 106 minutes
Being "based on a true story" is a double-edged sword. For starters, "true" life stories rarely fit into nice 90-minute segments. Plus there's the fact that you can't see the film without knowing what is going to happen next.
Soul Surfer is based on the story of a 13-year-old surfer girl who gets her arm bitten off by a shark but heals and continues to compete in surfing. That right there is pretty cool and something that would seem to lend itself nicely to a great comeback story. Sadly, that's not quite what we have here.
What we have here is a film that starts by explaining how growing up in Hawaii is nothing but surfing, parties on the beach, outdoor churches and giving the hang-loose hand sign every 10 minutes.
From there you're just waiting for the shark attack - they milk it pretty good for the first half hour. The attack itself is pretty funny (in a cheesy way) and is literally over in a second.
In the end, the surfing scenes are fantastic, the core of the story is good and the adults are doing their best to give this thing some semblance of reality. However, comeback stories are no good if the there is no realistic fall. This film is so over the top with sweetness that at no time do you think this hot blond surfer girl is not going to succeed. If you do see this, be sure to stick around for the "real" footage during the end credits.
