The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006)

That was an excellent one.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Once upon time, when the earth was green, an obscure and unambitious little young adult romcom was produced in Canada. The name of the film was The Cutting Edge. To the great surprise of everyone both in front of, and behind, the camera, the film was magical, a genuine phenom, and became (and still is!) a cult classic. If you have not seen it, stop reading this and go find a copy. NOW.(Yes, yes, I know, before the email starts, the official IMDb profile says that CE1 was a US production but if you read the fine print, you will see that all filming was done in and around Toronto. Which means that most of the production staff were Canadian. Which makes this a first-generation Canadian film. Understand this -- there is a reason that most first-gen Canadian films have never been seen or heard of again. To be able to say that CE1 actually became a classic is ... extraordinary.) OK, back to CE2, a direct to video production. The good news is the performance of Christy Carlson Romano. It is never less than good and often more than great. It literally sustains the weak script (in many places a copy of CE1) and forgettable performances from the rest of the cast. Not their fault though. Looks like it was produced on a shoestring.I read the IMDb reviews which tout that this film is good enough to stand on its own. Ugh! Listen, if not for the success of CE1, which started the franchise, this production would never have happened. At the end of the day, THAT is the acid test.

On its merits alone it would have been a fine Saturday afternoon flick. It was rather predictable in storyline but anyone starting that could figure that out 2 minutes in.Where it falls shortest is in the rehashing of the toe-pick joke from the first movie, I was only hoping they would hint at it until she finally said it. The other part was the bad 80s music which is OK if you're watching a brat pack spin off flick from pre 1992, in 2006 it just feels like the director was still in torn jeans and a Def Leppard shirt.If you're just looking for something easy going, or a movie to watch while recovering from major head surgery then you're set. I know it sounds mean, but I just wish these people would give a damn when they make a film to have it look better than a high school production of Grease.

I just watched this movie for the second time, partly in the background, while catching up on some business and personal e-mails. I remember the first time I saw it a while back {I'd seen the "original," with Moira Kelly and D. B. Sweeney, playing characters, who, like the leads here - Christy Romano and Ross Thomas (Jackie & Alex) - forge a shaky beginning into an Olympic pairs-skating duo}. Jackie is the daughter of the Gold Medal-winning pair portrayed by Kelly and Sweeney, who married and are their daughter's supporters in her quest. Like her mother, she has to take-up "pairs" following an injury, and Alex becomes her partner, in mirror fashion to the original, and with the same conflicts to be resolved, as those through which her parents' achievements evolved. The only difference, is while her parents' romance developed in a straight-line sequence - she and Alex meet earlier while she is vacationing, and their attraction occurs before he learns her true identity, and they "part" - to begin again when he enters the field to become her partner. And while Sweeney was a hockey budding superstar who had sustained a career-ending injury, Alex is an X-games "celebrity," who leaves his agent and finds this arena of the sports world celebrity is not paying the rent. The first time I saw this movie was with several friends. One of them, for some inexplicable reason, having seen almost every famous movie, had somehow missed "Casablanca." We had planned for the gathering to watch this - for him to see the first time, the rest of us to enjoy anew - with my VHS copy, during the evening. One of the ladies also brought her copy of this film, and we watched it, followed by "Casablance." To use a baseball analogy, most would compare this, say, with watching a "AA" game between two non-contending teams, followed by the 7th game of the World Series with Sandy Koufax pitching (I know Sandy never actually had to pitch in a 7th game). But you know what -- you don't have to be snobbish or critical of movies like this one just because there are the "Casablancas" and "Citizen Kanes" out there. It has likable, attractive actors, both in the leads and supporting roles - and a genuinely moving love story - even if less classic than Bogey and Ingrid. And one could spend less enjoyable evenings than watching it, preceded by Kelly and Sweeney in the "original," an even slightly more appealing and warm presentation. Sure Bogart and Bergman, Henreid/Rains/Greenstreet/Lorre get a "10." But the original "Cutting Edge" rates a "9," and this flick a solid "8."

Okay, so it's not the best film I've ever seen, but if you like cheesy girly romcoms then it's not so bad. It made me laugh quite a few times and the figure skating is good. The film isn't as good as The Cutting Edge and it's a shame that they don't have any of the same actors, but it's alright as far as sequels go. It's a bit too much like the first one in that the heroine is a work-obsessed over-motivated meanie, and the guy starts off not being able to figure skate at all, but all the same I thought it was quite entertaining =P I'd give it a seven out of ten for all its cuteness. Plus points: Jackie's actress is good in a scene near the end when she cries a lot, the acting is actually reasonably convincing and she certainly cries enough real tears.