For our next DCOM review, we have the story of a young girl who finds her calling by entering a national farting competition. Will she be the ultimate rip girl?
No, I’m only kidding. That would be very wacky. Instead, we get a straightforward, pretty simple television movie. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it does make things less interesting. I have been reviewing these movies for a while now and this one might be the most difficult one to review yet. Not because it’s so bad or so good, but because it is just fine.
The Story
A 13-year-old girl named Sydney visits Hawaii for the first time because of a plantation she inherited. While there, she learns that she has the sole power to keep the property. The native islanders want her to keep it while her father and stepmother are leaning towards selling. What will she choose? While deciding, Sydney hangs around the island and learns to surf behind her father’s back.
The only real issue with Rip Girls is how predictable it is. We know from the beginning what Sydney is going to end up choosing. Her father constantly freaks out about her surfing and there are multiple conversations about her mother’s death. Later when everyone is shocked to find out Sydney’s mom died in a surfing accident, it isn’t surprising to the audience. I swear if there is anything that Disney loves, it’s dead or jerk parents. This movie has both.
The story has good messages throughout. It talks about dealing with death and how important it is to let others know that what they are feeling is okay. The movie deals with how hard decision-making can be and how there is nothing wrong with facing your fears. These are all good messages. The thing is Rip Girls sort of dips its toe in the water when it comes to how deep we go here.
Not every movie has to be deep and meaningful but when the majority of your movie is dealing with tough topics in a way that feels generic and done before, it isn’t exciting.
The Acting and Scenery
What works best in this movie for sure is how genuine it is. It isn’t trying to dazzle anyone. It wants to tell a simple story about loss and it does it well. The acting from everyone is fine. At first, I thought that Sydney, played by Camilla Belle (When A Stranger Calls) was playing things too whimsical for a movie like this. Her character is full of wonder here though. She is in a new place taking in everything and learning all that she can. It also helps that she is a likeable lead.
The other thing that works is how beautiful the movie looks. Even though filmed in Australia, it does a good job of doing what it can to look like Hawaii, and the shots overall are great.
Overall
Rip Girls is a solid, good Disney Channel Movie. It has good acting and an endearing story. The only issue is it isn’t too original or memorable. Johnny Tsunami which i covered earlier had a similar plot but was better because of the stakes, the adventure, and the plot points we didn’t see coming.
At the end of the day, I do recommend this one. It has a good message on how to cope with loss that is important for younger viewers to hear. Just don’t expect anything too memorable or one-of-a-kind. Rip Girls doesn’t surf a huge wave but it does flow easy with the current.
