Chasing Mavericks: Bland, but Fresh Too

When I stepped out of the theaters, I wasn’t really sure whether I liked or disliked this movie. From a purely objective point of view, it was very bland and contained many stock characters and wooden dialogue. However, I hesitate to dismiss it because it’s about this legendary surfer who accomplished so much during his brief life thanks to his incredible work ethic and positive attitude. But I think it’s safe to say that Jay Moriarity probably deserved a more powerful and less contrived tribute. I also think the surf scenes partially helped save this bland movie. If it were about a ballet dancer or a piano player, I don’t think it would have been as thrilling and exciting to watch. There’s something about life and death situations that can really captivate viewers.

We begin with eight-year-old Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston), who already finds himself thrust into a hostile world. As he is nearly swept away by the waves, he is fatefully rescued by his neighbor, Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler), a stern surfer and carpenter. Jay opens up about timing waves in order to gauge their size. Dealing with the split of his parents and his mother’s emotional breakdowns, Jay finds solace in riding the waves. Seven years later, he has already mastered the waves at his neighborhood beach. He stealthily follows Frosty one day and discovers that Frosty and his three buddies have staked out an epicenter of huge waves called the Mavericks, situated in the larger Half Moon Bay. Jay asks Frosty to train him. After much persistence on Jay’s part and even a bit of coaxing from his wife (Abigail Spencer), Frosty acquiesces and takes Jay under his wing. While surfing dominates his life, Jay also balances his work at the pizza parlor, taking care of his fragile mother (Elizabeth Shue), and vying for the affections of an older girl and childhood friend, Kim (Leven Rambin).

While I understand critics comparing this film with The Karate Kid, Chasing Mavericks resists merely cataloguing Jay’s physical training and the witty aphorisms from the mentor figure. Don’t get me wrong–I would choose Karate Kid over this film any day. While Mr. Miyagi might have felt very exotic and different from Daniel, Jay and Frosty share key experiences that inform their perspectives on life, including the loss of a parent. Also, compared to other films that center around apprenticeships that portray the mentor as always one step ahead, I liked how this film showed how the mentor heals and learns so much as he guides this promising young man. The film seems to challenge the mentor figure to not only give advice than to also follow his own advice. As Frosty encourages Jay to confront his latent fears, he realizes that he has a lot of soul searching to do as well. As a mentor, he is forced to reexamine his attitude on life and make space for someone else other than himself in his heart. All in all, I generally liked the character of Frosty.

That said, Frosty’s advice often gets a little heavy-handed and didactic, especially when he starts assigning Jay to write essays on grandiose topics such as “the power of observation” and “fear.” Some of his advice comes off as scripted and contrived, especially when Frosty replies that “this isn’t just for surfing, but also for life.” I started wishing that the screenwriter would stop underestimating our intelligence. While I admired the recurring theme that mastery of the self is essential for excelling in any field, I think the dialogue between Frosty and Jay could have been rewritten to sound more genuine, personal, and less cookie-cutter-ish.

Some of the characters also felt a little archetypical and formulaic, such as the bullies that taunt both Jay and his friend. Other than the fact that many typical school narratives include friction between the protagonist and some disparaging bullies, I didn’t really see the merit in their appearance. I also thought that the character of Kim could have been fleshed out in more detail and with greater complexity. Instead, the film positions her as the popular, desirable girl that the male protagonist must win over. I also wish the film could have talked more about Frosty’s Mavericks crew and their relationship with Jay, but the film invests too much of its energies in portraying the teen drama that threatens to impede Jay’s focus and determination.

As a tribute to the late Jay Moriarity, the film portrays him as likable, focused, driven, and kind. He genuinely cares for everyone in his life, including those who don’t always reciprocate his consideration and question the validity of his goals. Although I generally liked and rooted for this character, he sometimes came off as too nice, patient, and not as interesting as I had expected him to be. Although I resist biopic films about musicians that show the protagonist in the worst possible light, excessively angelic characters often come off as flat and one-dimensional rather than complex and interesting.

As much as I have my misgivings about this movie, I admire that the film paid homage to the beautiful spirit of Jay Moriarity. One of the most popular slogans about Jay was “Live Like Jay.” This doesn’t necessarily mean taking on risky endeavors such as surfing the Mavericks but staying true to yourself and pursuing your dreams. Those who enjoy watching inspirational true stories and fans of surfing might appreciate this film. I know that I’ve gained so much more appreciation for surfing as a professional sport after watching this film and also Soul Surfer, a moving biopic about Bethany Hamilton who survived a fatal shark attack. From a completely objective perspective, however, the film is not that impressive, and I can think of many other mentor-mentee movies that have successfully engaged more of my emotions, such as Dead Poets Society, To Sir With Love, and Scent of a Woman. I do, however, recommend learning more about this courageous young man’s accomplishments.