Chalet Girl (2011)
6/10
sports genre predictably meets teen girl coming-of-age in British indie
4 March 2012
Starring Felicity Jones as Kim, "Chalet Girl" is supposed to be a mix of the teen girl and sports genre while making fun of those that live in the privileged bubble. Although it does run the course exactly as expected, it is a British indie version with a very likable lead actress.

In a recent interview, Jones indicated that she only picks roles with unique characters or characters that require her to stretch beyond her abilities. While I do admire everything she's done, I don't quite see how the very simplistic Chalet Girl fits in to her maxim. Kim is a tomboy, a teen skateboarding champion, who, after the death of her mother, resigns herself to taking care of her father and working a dead end job. One of the better parts is that her father can actually take care of himself, almost. We understand why she thinks she needs to be there, but he's not so incompetent that he's despicable.

In search of better pay, Kim is off to an exclusive catering job. The job requires her to be tall, blonde and have a four-syllable name which rhymes with Bella. She is, of course, none of those things, but she is available to move to Austria on a few hours notice.

In Austria, she meets a cute, unavailable guy, rich, demanding families, and tall, privileged blondes. Life is looking like it's going to be pretty miserable until she discovers snowboarding. Kim has the chance to win a lucrative cash prize in a snowboarding competition, and vie for the attentions of the cute, unavailable client.

I was really hoping that "Chalet Girl" would go for a different ending, but alas, you will have seen this movie many times before. But at least it is the British indie version.
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