Chalet Girl

I watched the opening of Chalet Girls where I had seen a trailer at the cinema expecting awful teen’s rights of passage romp and stayed to watch the whole film. It is more a contemporary faiy story. The girl and her father cling to each other after the death of the wife and mother in a car accident with both blaming themselves for contributing to the death,

An accident to an existing Ski Resort chalet girl enables Cinderella to be accepted by an agency for a four month contract despite an inability to Ski. The girl can cook and works hard but is out of her depth among the other sophisticated and experienced Chalet girls who look after the rich and famous to keep large latest gadgets homes in the resort where they spend occasional holidays in season, bringing business guests and sometimes friends, eat caviar and drink the best champagne. Bill Nighy plays the wealthy chalet owner with his snobby wife, a former air hostess and their son, Prince Charming who is about to become engaged to a suitable girl of money and social standing.

The girl discovers she has a talent for snow boarding although is held back by the sense of guilty regarding the death of her mother. She is forced to enter a major competition held at the resort when after celebrating her birthday at a party they invited everyone back to the Chalet where she is discovered skinny dipping by the son who returns unexpectedly and makes them pay up their tips as compensation for the damage caused by the other party goers. Unbeknown to the girl the young man comes for a weekend before his engagement party and uncertain he is making the right decision joins the girl for day on slopes at the end of which they fall in love and have sex, only to again be discovered by the mother who comes to collect her errant son. He backs out of the engagement at the party and is understandably physically assaulted by the girl.

The girl enters the competition and appears to fail in the first run ending up first reserve. She gets her chance at the last moment and wins a substantial money prize as well as finding a new career as a professional snow boarding competitor. The girl, her by now Chalet girl friends all find their ideal love sex partner as does her father back homer with his local authority help although why is entitled to a home help escaped me. It was good fun.