The Cutting Edge is a 90's Rom-com that features a pair of skaters who you wouldn't of course expect to be together. One is a hockey player and the other an actual figure skater and when both are paired up to go for gold, well they might fail at the first hurdle of training. The film is one packed with schmaltzy lines and a fairly basic story and yet the film in my opinion is actually an OK one. Listen I mean this is no fantastic film, no revelation and really not one of those films that might surprise you at just how good it is, but this is still not a film I feel that is easily dislikeable. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky from 70's cop show Starsky & Hutch) who does a good job of at least keeping you hooked in on the film, the movie never seems to fade and even when a few wobbles maybe do appear, they don't create some massive fail.
I could start with talking about the cast, the director and just the plot but really the first person to mention is Tony Gilroy whose screenplay here is actually great stuff, of course Gilroy would go on to win and be nominated for major awards but this was the first movie he ever wrote. The story is not exactly original of course not but it's the dialogue that Gilroy gets just right, it's not stupid and doesn't feel like stuff you would just never hear in real life. Gilroy's script is then put on the screen fairly well with Glaser's direction and it really feels like a film where hard work was put in and it's good to see really.
The film stars D. B. Sweeney as hockey player Doug Dorsey and Moira Kelly as figure skater Kate Moseley who is spoiled and not exactly on board with working with Dorsey. Both play their respective roles well and do the best they can do to make you at least feel something toward them, for me it is Dorsey who you connect with most although Kate has her moments as a character. I liked most of the supporting cast too with Roy Dotrice and Terry O'Quinn popping up in important roles; a lot of this movie comes down to yet again that small dialogue from Gilroy's script and Glaser seems to make the scenes actually kind of interesting even if they on the outside look dull and predictable.
The Cutting Edge is a film I would most definitely recommend and even though it is far from perfect it is still rather satisfactory. One thing I must say that does get increasingly annoying is the camera work when the actual skating occurs, it tries to do this strange slow motion kind of thing that just feels annoying after a while, although most skating scenes are at least done pretty well choreography wise (choreographed by an Olympic gold medal winning figure skater Robin Cousins no less). Another thing that lets this movie glide along nicely is the soundtrack filled to the brim with high energy songs and some rock music at times to really kick it into gear; it uses the music though particularly well when training is going on. So The Cutting Edge is really no film that necessarily delivers something refreshing but it does come out nicely and you could say it at least delivers the landing in a more than just mediocre way.
I could start with talking about the cast, the director and just the plot but really the first person to mention is Tony Gilroy whose screenplay here is actually great stuff, of course Gilroy would go on to win and be nominated for major awards but this was the first movie he ever wrote. The story is not exactly original of course not but it's the dialogue that Gilroy gets just right, it's not stupid and doesn't feel like stuff you would just never hear in real life. Gilroy's script is then put on the screen fairly well with Glaser's direction and it really feels like a film where hard work was put in and it's good to see really.
The film stars D. B. Sweeney as hockey player Doug Dorsey and Moira Kelly as figure skater Kate Moseley who is spoiled and not exactly on board with working with Dorsey. Both play their respective roles well and do the best they can do to make you at least feel something toward them, for me it is Dorsey who you connect with most although Kate has her moments as a character. I liked most of the supporting cast too with Roy Dotrice and Terry O'Quinn popping up in important roles; a lot of this movie comes down to yet again that small dialogue from Gilroy's script and Glaser seems to make the scenes actually kind of interesting even if they on the outside look dull and predictable.
The Cutting Edge is a film I would most definitely recommend and even though it is far from perfect it is still rather satisfactory. One thing I must say that does get increasingly annoying is the camera work when the actual skating occurs, it tries to do this strange slow motion kind of thing that just feels annoying after a while, although most skating scenes are at least done pretty well choreography wise (choreographed by an Olympic gold medal winning figure skater Robin Cousins no less). Another thing that lets this movie glide along nicely is the soundtrack filled to the brim with high energy songs and some rock music at times to really kick it into gear; it uses the music though particularly well when training is going on. So The Cutting Edge is really no film that necessarily delivers something refreshing but it does come out nicely and you could say it at least delivers the landing in a more than just mediocre way.