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There are few people who haven't heard of Bethany Hamilton. She was the 13-year-old amateur professional surfer who had her arm bitten off by 4.3 m tiger shark while surfing off the coast of Hawaii. She lost 60 per cent of her blood, but miraculously survived and returned to the world of professional surfing a champion. Her inspirational tale is the subject of Soul Surfer; a film that follows her personal struggle to overcome her debilitating injury.

Directed by Sean McNamara (Raise Your Voice, Bratz), this is not Jaws meets Blue Crush, but rather a Disney-esque version of events. Sure, this is a fairytale, so heart warming sentiments and inspirational monologues are to be expected. But somewhere between lines like “love is bigger than any tidal wave or fear” the film succumbs to family movie cheesiness. Written, produced and directed by McNamara, Soul Surfer is elevated by a trio of strong performances from AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany and Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her parents. Robb is beyond convincing and beautifully balances Bethany's vulnerability and inner-strength. Quaid and Hunt are fantastic as the supportive and highly likable parents. Their love for each other and their family has a tangible presence and one of the best scenes is when the Hollywood veterans take to the waves for a surfing/bonding session. Plus, Hunt is undoubtedly one of the most naturally beautiful women in the bizz. At 47 she rocks a bikini and in close-ups it’s clear to see she hasn’t had a spot of work done; she’s aging gracefully and looking all the better for it.

Also good is Jack Nicholson's daughter Lorraine Nicholson as Bethany's best friend Alana Blanchard and former Hercules star Kevin Sorbo in a meaty role as her dad Holt Blanchard. The Blanchard’s were close friends of the Hamilton family and responsible for saving Bethany's life that day when they dragged her to shore and used a leg rope as a tourniquet. These days Alana is better known for having the best ass in international surfing.Based on Bethany's autobiography of the same name, the surfer has always attributed God and her faith for getting her through the traumatic ideal and back on the board. The Christian elements of Bethany's life are certainly not skipped over. In fact, they're perhaps covered too extensively and the powerful Christian themes are likely to ostracise some viewers. American Idol winner Carrie Underwood's performance as a Christian councillor doesn't help. Her big screen debut is so terrible, you would be happy to throw yourself into the mouth of a tiger shark to escape her wooden and preachy portrayal. Her sense of superiority and righteousness would be excruciating enough, but Underwood sports heavy makeup throughout the film which seems especially ridiculous when she's working in the slums of Indonesian in the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami. A Christian missionary with more eye shadow than Hedwig from the Angry Inch strips any sort of believability from the situation.

Despite its shortcomings, Soul Surfer isn't a wipe out. It's an inspirational, family-friendly film that might over-do the cheese, but that doesn't mean it can't please.

Soul Surfer is out Thursday, May 26.

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Who's a special boy?

The Special Relationship opens with a quote from Oscar Wilde, which reads “true friends stab you in the front”. It is an appropriate statement, considering this is a dramatisation of the relationship between United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair and American President Bill Clinton.

The audience are introduced to an idealistic young Blair (Michael Sheen) who, as the leader of his country's opposition, comes to Washington in 1992 to learn from the success of the Clinton administration. Fast forward four years and Blair has taken government and is being encouraged to establish a `special relationship' with the United States through a friendship with Clinton (Dennis Quaid). However, as the pair begin to bond over their ideals and work together on various crisis', news of the Lewinsky scandal breaks and their friendship is put to the test.

Written by Peter Morgan, this is the third film in his informal `Blair trilogy' which started with The Deal in 2003, followed by The Queen in 2006. Sheen played Blair in both of those films, and it is an achievement of his acting talent that he has not become complacent in the role. His performance continues to be utterly captivating and bring a new sense of competency with the duplicated speech, mannerisms and physicality. The Special Relationship centres on Blair's transformation from a political hopeful to powerful world player, and Sheen charts this development well.
Quaid as Clinton is a unique sight, with his weathered good looks replaced with white hair, white eyerbrows and that signature accent. But once you can stop gut-laughing, Quaid is decent as one of America's most notorious Presidents. Sheen and Quaid bounce off each other, with Blair essentially the dorky kid in high school trying to befriend the cool jock that is Clinton. In the supporting cast, Mark Bazeley does a solid job of reprising his role of Blair's spin doctor Alastair Campbell from The Queen and Hope Davis is fierce as Hilary Clinton.

The performances really add to what is already a fascinating story, thanks to Morgan's compelling script and the opportunity for the actors to recreate some of the famous speeches from the period. Archive footage and news grabs are used to great effect, linking events and moving the story forward in a hasty fashion. From the White House to the Palace of Westminster, the locations are impressive and the production overall is strongly directed by Richard Loncraine.

Despite being a highly intelligent political drama, the element which makes The Special Relationship stand out from other films in the genre is it still manages to be entertaining. Wedged between the intense character discussions are lovely comedic moments and plenty of colour, which insure the appeal of the film is never lost to the audience. It seems unusual to me that in the US this didn’t get a cinematic release, but screened as a telemovie on HBO. Personally I think there would have been a market for it and am glad we Aussie audiences are getting a chance to see it in theatres, rather than split up over two nights like in the UK. Even for those who are not interested in politics or this particularly fascinating chapter in modern history, this film has plenty to offer viewers looking for a good time at the movies.
The Special Relationship opens in cinemas August 5.

P.S. For those of you playing at home, TSR is up for five Emmy Awards, count em, five! Quaid and Sheen are both up for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, Davis is up for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, Morgan is up for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special and the overall film is up for Outstanding Made For Television Movie. The ceremony is on August 29.

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