Thursday, Oct. 06, 2011

Soul Surfer

How do you say anything bad about this uplifting film? How do you say the filmmakers didn’t do justice to Bethany Hamilton’s remarkable true story – a teenager who loses her arm in a shark attack only to put her fear behind her and return to the ocean to learn how to surf with a handicap and regain a top ranking in the sport? How do you say that 90 percent of the acting is pap? How do you say that Sean McNamara, a director known for episodes of “That’s So Raven” and straight-to-video drivel, does a phoned-in job of an extraordinary accomplishment? How do you say that the whole thing feels like a made-for-TV movie? How do you say that this was a huge disappointment? I guess I just did. “Soul Surfer” is missing the soul – worth a rent if you’re a big fan of Disney sitcoms, everyone else can wait for it on cable.