Chasing Mavericks (2012)
Drama
1 hr. 55 min.
Rated: PG
Grade: C+
Directors: Michael Apted, Curtis Hanson
Writers: Kario Salem (screenplay),
Jim Meenaghan (story),
Brandon Hooper (story)
Stars: Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler, Abigail Spencer and Elisabeth Shue | See full cast and crew
Chasing Mavericks is the inspirational true story of real life surfing phenom Jay Moriarity (played by newcomer Jonny Weston). When 15 year old Jay discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, is not only real, but exists just miles from his Santa Cruz home, he enlists the help of local legend Frosty Hesson (played by Gerard Butler) to train him to survive it. As Jay and Frosty embark on their quest to accomplish the impossible, they form a unique friendship that transforms both their lives, and their quest to tame Mavericks becomes about far more than surfing. Chasing Mavericks was made with the help of some of the biggest names in the surfing world, and features some of the most mind-blowing real wave footage ever captured on film. -- (C) Official Site
Having never surfed a day in my life, I am as one might surmise, a fish out of water when it comes to discussing the authenticity of this film's surfer experience. For a dyed-in-the-wool surfer's opinion of this film check out Matt Pruett's review of Chasing Mavericks over at Surfline.com. Since was never much of a swimmer, and of course living
more than six hundred miles from the nearest ocean becoming a surfer
was was merely a dream that was never going to come to fruition. 
About the best I could hope for was to dream about how exciting, how cool, how Zen-like, how ego inflating it would be to shoot the curl of the monster waves, hanging ten, with everyone watching from the beach. That would be totally gnarly dude! Yeah, like that would ever happen. Meanwhile back at the theater, the question is...how good of a movie is Chasing Mavericks? The simple answer is, its an average movie, not a bad movie but certainly not a great movie either.
This movie is, however, a very worthwhile film for younger children and teens. It promotes valuable life lessons. Lessons like doing things the safe way is the right way. That seemingly impossible things can be achieved through determination, dedication, perseverance and hard work. It's not loaded with foul language, gratuitous sex or bathroom humor. That in and of itself makes Chasing Mavericks deserving of a positive nod. It is unfortunate that the script, directing and performances are predictable stereotypes. Most reviewers have been critical and made reference to the Karate Kid parallels. Beyond that, it is difficult to know how faithful the script is to the real life events in the lives of Jay Moriarity and his mentor Rick 'Frosty' Hesson.
There is truly no suspense here. We know going in (even if we are unfamiliar with Jay Moriarity) that there is no doubt that the little 8 year old boy, who is miraculously saved from a watery grave by Frosty Hesson, is not only going to learn to surf and is going to do it very well. We also know that he will conquer the big mythological waves known as Mavericks. I mean, why would anyone bother to even make a movie about this little boy unless he was going to succeed.
There are some side story asides that are never fully explained and don't really go anywhere nor do they do much to advance the story. The real joy of the film comes from the waves themselves and the surfers that live to brave them. The cinematography is stunning and the waves are the true, varifiable stars of the film.
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| Jay wipes out at Mavericks |
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| Jay Moriarity's iconic Mavericks drop, May 1995. |
The sad irony of Chasing Mavericks and Jay Moriarity's life is that he spent so much time and effort with Frosty Hesson learning how to safely conquer the Mavericks at the tender age of 16 only to tragically lose his life seven years pushing the limits of his body. He died one day prior to his 23 birthday, June 15, 2001, in the
Indian Ocean off the coast of the island Lohifushi in the Maldives,
drowning in an apparent diving accident. He was in Lohifushi for an O'Neill
photo shoot, when he went free-diving
alone and never returned. A search party recovered his body late
Friday night. Moriarity left behind his wife Kim Moriarity, they had been married less than one year.
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| Free-diving with mono fin |
Free-diving is a form of underwater diving that does not involve the use of scuba gear
or other external breathing devices, but rather relies on a diver's
ability to hold his or her breath until resurfacing. Examples include
breath-hold spear fishing, free-dive photography, apnea competitions, and to some degree, snorkeling. The activity that garners the most public attention is the extreme sport of competitive apnea in which competitors attempt to attain great depths, times, or distances on a single breath.
Jay was well loved and respected in the surfing world.
“People will forget what you say and do, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Jay touched so many people and he tried to leave everywhere he went just a little bit better. When people were around him, they felt the love and sincerity. Jay used to love to look for the gnarliest looking person he could find, make eye contact with them and smile. He came from a place of love in his heart and would use it to break down barriers with other people. ‘Live Like Jay’ doesn’t mean you have to be a tough, big-wave surfer. Jay knew that, even for him, that would eventually end. It means find out what you’re here for and follow it. Be true to yourself and treat others well.” -- Kim Moriarity
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| Jay Moriarity |
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| Mark Foo |
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| Jay Moriarity |
The Jay Moriarity wipe-out was the initial event to catapult Mavericks into the international surfing scene. Lest one assume that these are not truly dangerous waves, just four days after Jay's infamous wipe-out, Hawaiian Superstar Mark Foo drowned at Mavericks when he got a late takeoff into a 18-foot wave. Sadly no one was aware that Mark never surfaced after his wipeout. A few hours later Foo's body was found washed toward the shore, floating just under the water surface with a piece of his surfboard still attached by the leash to his ankle. It is assumed that he was either knocked unconscious or got entangled in his 'leash', preventing him from surfacing. However, the actual cause of his death has never been determined. The loss of such a great surfer at Mavericks, brought these waters further into the spotlight as one of the worlds most challenging spots to surf.
Gerard Butler was nearly taken down for out for good when things went awry while filming a scene for Chasing Mavericks in California’s Half Moon Bay when a dangerous surf break knocked him off his board and pinned him underwater. Gerard was dragged across the rocky sea floor before a jet-ski riding patrol-man was able to rescue him.
Gerard Butler was nearly taken down for out for good when things went awry while filming a scene for Chasing Mavericks in California’s Half Moon Bay when a dangerous surf break knocked him off his board and pinned him underwater. Gerard was dragged across the rocky sea floor before a jet-ski riding patrol-man was able to rescue him.
Cast
Frosty Hesson Jay Moriarity
Kristy Moriarity Brenda Hesson Kim Moriaity
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