Plot: What’s it about?
They really couldn’t be more different than fire and ice. Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) is at the top of his game, a U.S. Hockey player currently playing in the Olympics, is on the top of everyone’s list for the NHL. He’s fast, a great skater and most importantly, doesn’t choke under pressure. He’s your typical “go to” guy. That is, until in the final minutes of a game against West Germany (the first scene takes place at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, hence the “West” in the West Germany), Dorsey makes a clutch shot to tie the game. However, he is checked against a wall, thereby causing him to lose a portion of his perfiral vision. As the doctor explains it, to most people it would be a minor incovnenience, but to a hockey player, it’s all the difference in the world. So as the teams find out about Dorsey’s “condition”, he is sentenced to construction work an hangs out at his brothers pub in Minnesota, Dorsey’s Penalty Box. He now plays for a bar league, grasping to the hope that the NHL will someday come calling…This brings us to Kate Mosely (Moria Kelly). Kate is a spoiled little princess from Connecticut. Her goal, actually her father’s (Terry O’ Quinn), is to win an Olympic gold medal for figure skating. Only problem is that during the Calgary Olympics, in the finals, she fell and failed to bring home a medal of any color. Kate has gone through the best coaches and the best partners, but feels assured to pass the blame along to anyone but herself, and is now at the bottom of the barrel.
So now what? Well, you guessed it. Dorsey is recruited by Kate’s coach (Ray Dotrice) to be her partner in figure skating of all things! Doug, originally offended at the idea, feels that this is his best chance to get noticed again, so he reluctantly accepts the offer. Of course, accepting the offer is only half the battle, as getting along with Kate is the other half. They clash, and this what really brings the chemistry of the movie together. Yes…they really seem to hate each other! Other partners have taken Kate’s crap or just plain quit, and Doug is the yin to her yang, matching her insult for insult both on and off the ice. The duo have about two years of solid training before they have to really start worrying about the upcoming Olympics in Albetville, France (The real location of the 1992 Olympics). The fist step is turing Doug from Hockey player to figure skater, and one of the film’s most memorable scenes shows the damage those little “toe picks” can actually do.
This is all fine and good, we see and hear them insult each other and skate around, but the real emotion of the movie takes place when we can tell that they are both falling for each other. Kate, ingaged to be married to a white-collared stiff and Doug, the bachelor have feelings for each other, even though both hate to admit it. As expected, the duo do start to improve and it’s not long that they compete at the Nationals (the top two teams get to represent the United States at the Olypmics). By a miracle, they get in and this is the chance for them to get redemption and finally walk away with a medal. All of this takes a backseat, though, to the romance going on. Kate’s fiance has figured out that she is falling for him (as have we), and it’s up in the air as if their tempers can not get in the way of their emotions. As you can tell, I’m a real fan of this movie, though not a huge success, it does have a very dedicated audience and got fairly good reviews when it came out, some 9 years ago. The choreography by real life figure skater, Robin Cousins, is amazing and it’s a real testament to D.B. Sweeney and Moria Kelly who did a lot of the leg work, pardon the pun. Some may like this movie, as I originally saw it because I was really into hockey at the time (of course, I was diappointed with the lack of it), but I ended up really liking the movie. While the DVD is short on features, it’s good to see it finally arrive. Directed by Paul M. Glaser, most famous for the Arnold Schwarzenegger flick, “The Running Man”.
Video: How does it look?
One of the “lucky ones” from MGM, it actually features an anamorphic transfer. The 1.85:1 image is clean and clear throughout the majority of the movie, but there are spots where the saturation takes over and several spots where artifacts and elements are visible. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still much better than the VHS edition and the LD edition as well, but as far as DVD standards go, they can do better as evidenced with their new “When Harry Met Sally” DVD.
Audio: How does it sound?
I could have sword than when MGM, one of the first adopters of DVD, put out some of their discs that all DVD’s would be remastered in 5.1 sound when possible. Well, this movie was released in March of 1992, and I’ve heard plenty of movies before that time sound terrific with a new soundtrack. Sadly, this doesn’t feature a 5.1 track, only the orignal Dolby Surround mix. Still, the scenes at the competitions and during practice feature a very active mix that sounds good, though it could be better. Dialogue is clean, but has a tendancy to get “drowned out” in some scenes. Overall, a good mix, but I think it could have been better.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The Cutting Edge comes up short here as well, the only feature that is included, aside from a one-page insert with some Cast Bios (which did not merit a “check” on the side, I only add those when they’re on the actual disc) is a theatrical trailer in full screen. Maybe we’ll get lucky and have this come out with some additional features someday, but as for now, I count it lucky that we got away with an anamorphic transfer. I really liked this movie and I think it’s worth at least a rental…you might just like it too!
