WHITE SQUALL
Fan Review by Patsy, May 24, 2008
Long before I became a fan of Jeremy Sisto, I made fun of this movie. I was heartless. I didn't even notice Jeremy in this movie. My little sister had an absurd crush (actually she still has it) on Scott Wolf, and a less intense crush on David Lasher. She likes those pretty boys. She hates me for publically ridiculing her but that never stops me!
Every time my sister put this Disney-esque (I think this term comes from Mary, who also shamelessly loves this film) boys on the high seas adventure into the DVD, I have to say one of my "Popeye" lines: "Ahoy ye mateys! Look alive me hearties! Avast thar ya swab!" And get "f*cking nautical".
There's a crop of movies that should be labeled under "seafaring" "marine", and "oceanic". "White Squall" is definitely one of them. Filmed on the Caribbean Sea by Ridley Scott (director of "Alien" and "Bladerunner") it's the kind of film you should watch if you're in the mood to be seasick. Take your dramamine. For effect, I admit, it's powerful, but that doesn't save the film from being pretty bad. I'm surprised, since Ridley Scott is generally a really good film director. I have to say though, "White Squall" isn't one he should feel proud of.
I am a nitpicker and there are just enough inaccuracies to take my focus off the possibility that it might be a touching film. One is that Jeremy's hair style is too modern to be of the period (nerdy early 60s). It's shaved into 2 layers, shorter above the ears. Nobody wore their hair like that in those days. The other is the black bra that Alice Shelton wore in the scene where she gets knocked in the head during the "squall". Nobody wore black bras in those days. They wore ugly white torpedo bras if I remember my Mom's horror stories.
Those minor offenses aside, it isn't a bad choice if you are looking for a family drama with not too racy contents. There is no graphic sex or language to speak of, and the structure of the story, in all fairness, is very much like some Disney family films. Still, if your kids are into really action packed stories, this one might bore them. They might like "Treasure Island" or "Kidnapped" (not the Sisto series!) or even Popeye better! It's just not a film that's memorable or special. For Sisto, I have to agree it was an opportunity to show off his ability to pull off a psycho kid (even in those early years), but otherwise, it's far from the best film on the list. Even "Clueless" was better than this.
