If you don’t tear up during Soul Surfer, you have no soul. This is the powerful and inspiring real life story of Bethany Hamilton, the pro surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack. At first, you can pass this off a poorly written inspirational movie that should be shown on Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel, but as you dive deeper into the film, you realize how much heart it actually has and how real it eventually feels. By the end of the movie, you’ll be cheering along for Bethany at competitions and wiping tears from your cheeks.
The movie begins familiarizing you with Bethany. She grew up in Hawaii with two brothers to two parents obsessed with surfing so there was no doubt she was going to turn into a professional competitive surfer. She was on her way to her dreams alongside best friend and surfing buddy Alana Blanchard. They’re both home schooled by Bethany’s mom and every morning go out in the ocean to surf with Alana’s dad. What a life, right? There’s a scene of an awesome nighttime beach party where they surf with neon lights under the full moon. The movie even plays an upbeat song that repeats, “this is the life.” And then she gets her arm ripped off by a shark. OUT OF NOWHERE. Holy crap that was a ridiculous scene.
AnnaSophia Robb with the real Bethany Hamilton
From here, the movie turns from everything on the up and up and going Bethany’s way to realizing the struggle of life with just one arm. It’s an intense set of scenes from the shark bite, to the hospital, to healing back up. The movie really portrays the family struggle and not just Bethany’s. They did it in such a tasteful yet impactful way that I can recommend this movie to anybody of any age. Now you get to witness her triumphant return to surfing, but not without a few bumps along the way. If this tragedy wasn’t enough, they throw in the devastating tsunami in Thailand for extra measure. Realizing the whole world doesn’t revolve around surfing, she can focus back on what she loves…surfing. “Aren’t you afraid?” “I’m more afraid of not surfing.” “I don’t need easy, I just need possible.”
The seasoned cast is wonderful. You have Dennis Quaid as Bethany’s father, Tom, and Helen Hunt as her mother Cheri. They made a very believable couple for an unbelievably loving family…it’s great to remind America that wholesome family units like this still exist somewhere. Both Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid actually surf in the movie and Quaid was hella tanned. They must of had a lot of fun shooting this. There’s even a cameo by Craig T. Nelson as the family doctor and Kevin Sorbo who plays Hercules in the movie (not really, but he does save the day as Alana’s dad). The newcomers AnnaSophia Robb as the lead Bethany, Lorraine Nicholson as best friend Alana, and Sony Balmores as competitive mean girl Malina Birch aren’t superb actresses but they sure do look hot in swimsuits. I need to make a trip back to Hawaii…so much eye candy in that lifestyle. Carrie Underwood plays Sarah, Bethany’s religious camp leader for some reason…they share a crying scene that will bring tears to your eyes but not for the right reason.
Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, and AnnaSophia Robb in Soul Surfer
The movie is actually very religious. While it doesn’t quite shove it in your face, it does just put it all out there. They quote passages from the Bible, go to Church, and pray…a lot. “Because you can do all things through Him, he gives me strength.” Obviously, the movie is based on actual events and the family involved is a very loving and religious family but I just point this out in case some families/people have a problem with that kind of thing. That aside, if you can get past some of the bad dialogue and incredibly boring surf competition commentary, then you’re in for a treat for a well structured family drama. You should check it out, yeah? Just don’t forget the Kleenex.
Tags: AnnaSophia Robb, Bethany Hamilton, Carrie Underwood, Craig T. Nelson, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Lorraine Nicholson, Sony Balmores, Soul Surfer
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
