À la poursuite de Mavericks

When I was fifteen, I used to love listening to the beach boys with my headphones on, cutting out the rest of the world. One of my favourite songs was "In my Room" by Brian Wilson. Chasing Mavericks deals with people coming to terms with massive gaps in their lives but somehow focusing on something bigger than themselves to pull through. If you love surfing or the ocean, this movie is for you. Mavericks was brought to world wide attention with Stacey Peralta's film "Riding Giants". Jay has lost his father early in life, and has to act as a pseudo parent for his mother who suffers from the breakup. He accidentally discovers that his much older neighbour Frosty is a big wave surfer and so a teacher mentor relationship starts. Frosty, as well, has terrible father issues which continue to plague him. Their relationship develops momentum and gives each of them energy and purpose. The film underlines the choices we can make in life. Everyone has scars and issues to deal with. Do we give up and spiral downwards or do we set big goals (waves) and go after them. Jay plans carefully in his room to conquer his fears and reach his goal. Excellent and heartfelt acting.

Chasing Mavericks is a story of hopes and dreams, a story of a boy who knew what he had to live for. Some of us chase our dreams of going to college, or becoming a football player or a Lawyer. And there are others that dream of chasing the biggest wave, like Jay Moriarity he lived for riding those waves, for pushing himself to become strong enough for the Mavericks.

The imagery in this movie is outstanding; it pulls you into the sea and sucks you deep into the beauty of the water. It makes you feel and see the details of the scene, makes you long to run your fingers through the surface of the tide, to inhale the fresh scent of sea air.

Chasing Mavericks makes you realize the importance of living everyday to the fullest, to love those around you while you have the chance to do so, because each day is numbered and to never let the 'distance' of our own problems draw us away from those we love most. This movie also shows us the effect of fatherhood on our younger generation, how our boys and girls desperately need the strong leadership of role-models from fathers. How without the guidance of a father figure many of us will never reach the dream of 'riding the Mavericks.' How the loss of our fathers become our biggest 'fears', they hold us back from achieving what we want most. Acceptance and love.

Jay defines all the odds, reaches the goals of what he was created for, he lives his life to the very fullest and changes the lives of so many others along the way. 'We are all from the water, but we don't all live for the water.'

Chasing Mavericks is a clear five stars printed on my sleeve!

OK, yeah, I rated it excellent because Chasing Mavericks was a 10 for its genre, IMO. Better than I thought it would be - this story of Jay Moriarty was heart-felt and well-acted. Gerard Butler was spot on for guys like that in Santa Cruz at that time. Jonny Weston was surprisingly good, too, portraying Jay Moriarty.

I loved this movie, the surfing scenes were photographed well. And the scenes around Santa Cruz brought back good memories. It was a throw-back to those movies that were not CG'd out, action flicks, super-heros, etc. (all of which I love BTW). It has a home-grown feeling with interesting colors and nice photography. I lived in the Santa Cruz surfing scene, although not a surfer myself, and really enjoyed the memories of hearing about Mavericks.

Very cool movie about a good and amazingly talented young surfer and his mentor. Surfing is a tight community, esp. back then. I think reviewers who may use the term "sappy" just don't realize how sappy/cool they were! Awesome film that I think young and old will really enjoy.

This movie was great - The filming of of the huge waves, surfers, and conditions was fantastic. I found it a beautiful story of people, the challenge of relationships, mixed with the thrill of surfing, and the athletic abilities required for the champions.

From the heart, this is a true story of a young man, Jay (Jonny Weston), who in spite of many things against him, manages to make his dream come true based on hard work. It is also the story of another man, Frosty (Gerard Butler,) who has his own personal challenges, comes to terms with some of those, and builds a relationship with a young man who needs a father. I was particularly impressed by Brenda (Abigail Spencer), Frosty's wife, who simply loved him. Maybe a strange statement, but when you see the film, you will understand.

Definitely worth seeing!

Stunning, nostalgic ocean/beach/surf/coastside visuals, and a watery-emotional story combine to pique any Half Moon Bay romantic to smile, point, shake their head...and gasp with awe. It's, of course, a five-star Flic for me (I am from Half Moon Bay); I'm sure anyone not from Half Moon Bay will have to give it at least a four. In the end, even though it is a love story, it's a surf movie--and a good one. From what I know of surfing, I don't think this tells the whole story, but I think it's a good start. I pray that it opens the door for more stories of this subculture to be told. Bravo to all those that took great risks developing this saga, both before and during.

I do have a complaint: Jeff Clark of Half Moon Bay discovered Mavricks; has the name patented. He noticed the break from behind our High School, and in spite of warnings and skepticism by others, initially took incredible risk in developing Mavricks. He's this surf spot's pioneer, and though this story is really not about Mavricks, but about Jay Moriarty, Jeff Clark deserves his name prominently marqueed .... or maybe that's the sequel!