40/365 Ice Castles (2010)

Starring: Taylor Firth, Rob Mayes, (blink and you miss it cameo by Michelle Kwan)

Genre: Romance

Discovery: Temporary Insanity

Summary: Lexi is an up-and-coming ice skater with the ‘perfect life’ until an accident on the ice tests her passion & love for skating.  Her boyfriend helps her journey back to the Nationals (without anyone knowing she is blind).

First Glance: Normally, I am a sucker for an underdog triumphs/ love story.  This time I’m left feeling like I ate way too much cotton candy & my stomach hurts.  It’s sweet and poignant in all the ‘right spots’ but it lacks.  No chemistry between the leads which I demand in my romantic genre flicks.  I can’t help it, I don’t want to look away when they kiss because it feels wrong.  :-)  Hollywood, next time you cast a real skater in the lead, please make sure she can act not just look pretty on ice.  Please.

Deeper Look: The theme of ‘you can do whatever you put your mind to’ & ‘love conquers all’ is alive in well is this sappy story.  The original did it MUCH better.  I won’t be bragging that I spent 90 minutes of my life watching this movie.  In fact, I wish I could erase it from my mind right now.  (Behind the scenes girl says: they couldn’t even go all out in those fantastic glittery over-the-top costumes ice skaters wear.  Everything was bland and muted.  Blech) Also, how can NO ONE know you are blind until you trip on a teddy bear AFTER the program is over?  Just sayin’.

What I Took Away from this Movie: Smaltz can only take you so far.

Final Glimpse: Maybe on any other day I would have liked this movie for its sweetness, but today it felt cloying.  In the words of Chris Farley: Me no likey.