HelloTexas11
Note to self- just because a film is foreign, obscure, and stars Catherine Zeta-Jones doesn't mean it's any good. Such is the case with 'Blue Juice,' a 1995 Brit flick about an unlikely group of surfing enthusiasts in what would seem (to a dumb American, anyway) an even more unlikely place to find surfers: Cornwall, England. You might be thinking this has the makings for an amusing, quirky little comedy. If only. The film is just a bit over ninety minutes but it seems interminable. The easiest way to describe it is as a sort of '90's British version of 'Grease' without the dancing, but even that makes it sound better than it is. No, the best way to take it is as a little slice-of-life set in a small town. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Chloe, a young woman living with a surfing instructor, JC (Sean Pertwee; you remember him). Pertwee is actually the film's star, and his character is something of a surfing legend to a small group of surfing devotees, the requisite oddball group of free spirits that inevitably inhabit films like this. In this case, it consists of a drug dealer who wants to be a journalist, a former nightclub dj who wants to be a record producer, and a fat nerdy guy who, in a needlessly extended scene, gets stoned and loses all his inhibitions which of course turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. I can't honestly say everything that goes on in 'Blue Juice' is predictable, since it's set in a place and reflects customs and manners I'm not very familiar with, but there's certainly nothing surprising or even interesting that takes place there or with the characters. The comedy, though, IS very predictable and tired. One can sense the set-ups a mile away and almost recite the dialogue (in American form, of course) before the actors do. The relationship between JC and Chloe is every bit as hackneyed. She wants him to grow up; he wants them to stay the impetuous teenagers they started out being. He's afraid of losing face with his gang; she thinks he prefers them to her. You get the idea. As I struggled to stay focused on 'Blue Juice,' toward the end I felt, as the saying goes, that this was an hour and half of my life I'd never get back.
marlin-21
A proper little gem of a feelgood movie, it has well wrought characters and great character portrayals. It also has production values way above it's budget. For what it is worth, England ( well, Cornwall really ! ) has never looked better, and, projected with a script of some worth, the whole movie adds up to a true mini classic. Each character's role is well explored and developed, and the level of each actor's ability is truly impressive. All it lacks is a first class music soundtrack, something which one is entitled to take for granted in a movie aimed at the market it does. A little more hot sex would not have gone amiss either !...especially with Catherine Zeta-Jones in the driving seat !
Sherazade
why and how films like these ever get made. I have to admit, I'm a fan of both Catherine Zeta Jones and Ewan Mcgregor, and when I heard they did an old film together, I was the first person to run to the library to rent the DVD. Lo! and Behold! they aren't even remotely connected in the film. Cat's attached to this other loser guy who prefers to try and catch a wave with his friends than hang out with her. The problem is, they are in Scotland (I believe), um wouldn't you wanna go to a place like L.A., Thailand or Hawaii to catch a wave and be a surfer dude? The whole film was just weird and a tad bit annoying. It's no wonder a film like this didn't enjoy any commercial success. And as usual, CZJ was its only saving grace.
