Soul Surfer

I have no doubt that the real story of Bethany Hamilton is an inspiring one, but the dramatized bio-picture, Soul Surfer, treats the material in a much too neat and tidy manner. There's nothing here that offends, but there's also nothing that excites, or makes us feel for Hamilton. The film version of Bethany is so relentlessly sunny and cheerful, she doesn't even seem to be based on a real person.

As the film opens, Bethany (played by AnnaSophia Robb) is a spunky and spirited teenage girl with big dreams of being a pro-surfer. She lives with her parents (Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt), two brothers, and a dog in a beautiful beach side home in Hawaii, despite the fact that mom and dad don't seem to have jobs, and spend as much time in the water as the kids do. Bethany, along with her best friend Alana (Lorraine Nicholson, daughter of Jack Nicholson) has just won corporate sponsorship for her rising surf career. The young friends compete against the mean surfer girl bully, Malina (Sonya Balmores), go night surfing with some cute guys, and generally enjoy care-free days. There's talk of these girls being home schooled at one point, but we never see them do anything but frolic on the beach.

Tragedy strikes when Bethany decides to go practice in the water, instead of going with her church youth group on a missionary trip to Central America. While Bethany and Alana are out on their boards, a shark show up and bites off Bethany's arm. She's rushed to the hospital by Alana's father (Kevin Sorbo), and despite losing 60% of her blood in the attack, she miraculously recovers. Even while in the hospital recovering, Bethany's mind is constantly on getting back in the water. But first, she has to learn how to cope with having only one arm, as well as the media attention her story earns when reporters start camping outside her house. Bethany has maybe five minutes of doubt and sorrow, but thanks to her sunny and supportive family, and her equally sunny and supportive church youth group leader (recording artist Carrie Underwood), Bethany gets back out in the water, and continues to compete in competitions, so she can show up that nasty old Malina, who is always dressed in black, just so we know right away that she's the villain, I guess.

Despite the presence of actors like AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and Craig T. Nelson (as Bethany's doctor), Soul Surfer feels like a made-for-TV movie that would be right at home on Lifetime or the Family Channel. It's harmless, overly formulaic fluff, and is about as suspenseful and thrilling as a kiddie ride at a carnival. The problem with the movie is that it's hard to see Bethany as a real person, because she never stops smiling. The movie hardly gives her time to doubt or tear up. There are no lonely nights at the hospital, wondering what the future holds. There's no moment where she questions if she'll even be able to surf again. (As soon as she wakes up from the operation, she's pretty much ready to jump back in the water.) There are some hints at hardships - She struggles a little with dressing herself, or cutting food with a knife with only one hand. But the movie's not interested in her trials. It wants to dive head-first into manipulated optimism, and never look back.

The movie is completely predictable from start to finish, and though it's acted and shot well enough, it holds virtually no surprises or insights into the actual people involved in the real story. Well, I take it back about there being no surprises. There's a big one during the opening credits, where we learn that seven different writers are credited with coming up with the "screen story" for this movie, and four more are credited to the actual screenplay itself. With how relentlessly pleasant this movie is, I imagine there were a lot of group hugs and pats on the back from everyone involved. All kidding aside, it's not so much the sunny attitude of the movie I have a problem with, it's just how forced it all seems. Even when Bethany goes with her church group to an area in Thailand that's been ravaged by a tsunami, she's still smiling, and inspires hope in the people by teaching a little boy how to surf.

I have a feeling this movie will work best with people who don't care what they watch, just as long as nothing too unpleasant happens during the film itself, and there's a happy ending. (These people do exist - I've met them.) As for me, well, some of the surfing scenes are shot well, and the performances don't offend. But I really began to resent the forced optimism after a while.

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