Robert W.
Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I'm a sucker for the 'teen chick flicks.' There was a time when I thought Amanda Bynes was an incredibly talented comedienne. I mention her because this film felt like an old school, fun times, Amanda Bynes comedy. In my books, that is a compliment. Chalet Girl is funny, cute, sweet, and even has some edge. It isn't your typical teen romance because the characters are early twenties or very late teens so its sort of a borderline adult comedy but still holds so much of the slapstick fun and romance of a great teen comedy. Add in some great characters a touch of a sports movie and it was simply fun. Is it Academy Award material? No, of course not, but it is completely entertaining and that makes a difference.Felicity Jones is outstanding. First of all, I think I just might have a crush on her. But besides that she is fun, and cute and full of spirit. She does terrific physical comedy and her wit and sarcasm is perfect for the role. Ed Westwick plays her love interest and does a good job. Its a far cry from his Gossip Girl character and that's a good thing for him. He doesn't get a lot of character development but enough to make him likable and have good chemistry with Jones. The supporting cast is really terrific. Tamsin Egerton as Jones' best friend, but starts out as her rival. Two very small but terrific roles by Bill Nighy and Brooke Shields, and a fun and quirky performance by Bill Bailey as Jones' father. The cast is terrific together and you will truly enjoy each character.I like when a comedy like this which is sort of light and fluffy can be smart too. I thought the dialogue was clever and fun and the film is easy to follow and the pacing is perfect. I think the film is a little intense or perhaps adult for the younger teenage crowd but anyone who is a fan of romantic comedies can rest easy in this one. Director Phil Traill comes from years of Television and he directs with a certain style that would be formulaic to television but somehow for this movie it works. I'm sure many will disagree with me but if you like something light and fun, Chalet Girl was truly terrific!! 9/10
edwardrevans
I had high hopes for this film, as I have heard it spoken of quite highly. Its well acted and its well acted well... thats it the plot is so predictable its laughable. Big neon signs metaphorically adorn the screen stating the obvious, oh we need money I'll enter a competition, oh i'm not good enough to enter because i have a fear of doing something, but hey maybe I will overcome this when it really matters! We have seen all this before on the made for TV and direct to DVD, we all try to avoid. Now for the subplot cause there's always a sub plot. Ordinary girl meets Rich boy, boy is engaged to be married fill in the guys viewers.
hannahnewport
This is your typical Rom-com, it has the innocent teenager seeking work and money and then comes the hunky boss. They are immediately attracted and flirty towards each other. She is a pro-skateboarder and has recently lost her mum in a car accident so he feels sorry for her, she teaches him how to snowboard and then they get caught by his self-centred mum the morning after. As usual there is an engagement, he is due to marry the girl of his mums dreams but he realises that Kim is the one. Kim wins the competition and as I predicted at the beginning he then turns up and they live 'happily ever after'. I realised when I turned it on that it would be your usual soppy Rom-com and to be truthful it was, but the Tom-boy/skater idea and the setting really did I for me, so in the end I was wanting to watch it again and again. This isn't for the non-romantic type so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.
Red-Barracuda
There surely can't be too many people who come away from Chalet Girl saying that it didn't deliver what they expected it to. It's almost charmingly clichéd and completely predictable at every moment. Whether or not this will bother you or not is entirely down to your tolerance for the romantic-comedy genre. I personally would classify it as a perfectly watchable movie; although it is 100% unremarkable.Its main angle I suppose is its setting. The Alps are very beautiful and this doesn't harm the film. The snowboarding part is dealt with in a relatively minor way, as the main thrust of the plot is of the comic and romantic kind - the snobbishness of skiers, the almost angelic goodness of the boarders, the tart with a heart, the posh boy who falls for the chalet girl, etc etc. It's all very one dimensional, although it does have to be said that leading actress Felicity Jones does make for a good enough principal girl; however, her male counterpart Ed Westwick did seem very wooden to me. And I still can't fathom why they went to the trouble of hiring a skilled comedian like Bill Bailey when all his character amounts to is a man who can't cook his dinner.At the end of the day Chalet Girl is a chick-flick with snowboards. There's nothing new here but I've also seen Snowboard Academy, and that film makes this one seem like The Godfather by comparison. So there's a positive note to end this on.
AD
