Flying (1986)

People are voting emotionally.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I wonder what the famed Golden Harvest studio of Hong Kong were thinking when they decided to be associated with this tacky Canadian film. While I do admire the Canadians who made this movie for the fact that they did it on their own without government financing, the finished product is really hard to sit through. It's a pretty cheap-looking affair, looking unfocused and sporting odd-looking pastel colors. What really sinks the movie, however, is the script. There is not one turn in the lumbering story that comes as a surprise or has been given a new spin. Several relationships the movie's heroine is involved with seem unfinished or were left on the editing room floor. If you're wondering about Keanu Reeves, who appeared in this movie before he became famous, let me just say that his level of acting here is just as bad as it is in most of his Hollywood movies. This movie has apparently moved into the public domain, which isn't really a surprise - who on earth would put up the money to maintain its copyright?

Remember that the nostalgic aspect of 80s movies did not apply when they actually came out. So we are reviewing them as pieces of nostalgia, not just as movies. As nostalgia, I liked this one.Buffalo is a good location for a movie about working class teen underdogs. Flashdance and All The Right Moves were in the Pittsburgh area, a bit more cliché.Gotta love that soundtrack, although again, when it actually came out, you were used to hearing that quasi-disco-optimism genre. Now you are enjoying it as nostalgia. It makes the film for me.It was actually filmed in '84 but was not released for a couple of years. Keanu was 20, and Olivia was 15. I hope they were both supposed to be Seniors in high school, given their romantic relationship. (As opposed to Sophomores)Most of Olivia's early films were showcases for her considerably precocious and provocative budding sexuality. In this one though, she was so young, that it makes you feel a bit creepy watching it, unless you are a youngster yourself. I guess the intended audience was and is, teenagers, but even so, 15 is too young for screen sex in my opinion.I'm still not sure what dancing in a warehouse has to do with competitive gymnastics, although I understand that Tumbling routines are done to music. In Flashdance, the girl was making a living as a pop dancer, while aspiring to ballet. Not so in this one.The warehouse scenes were gratuitous and included the obligatory dancing African American. That made me squirm, sensing exploitation, but no one forced the guy to do it.They really stacked the deck with all our character's home life troubles too. Jeez. Dead dad, abusive step dad, ill mom, surly sister, anorexic friend. Wow.Reeves displays his usual "everyman" appeal that made him a star. I mourn the awkward heavy vibe he adopted or was forced to develop, in later films. He looks very young here.If you are a teenager and fantasize about having a boyfriend like teen Keanu, or you are a lonely girl who dreams of overcoming odds and finding love, you will enjoy this one. Please enjoy the 80s vibe and learn to appreciate your parents' generation.

This is a typical 80s dance/gymnastic/music vehicle type of film; underdog with a hard life works hard and is involved in lots of montage shots to add drama and interest including the 80s obligatory "girls getting sweaty whilst working out in leotards" scene. It's typical of the 80s in terms of gregarious fashion and music, much reminiscent of Flashdance and that sort of thing and the music is poppy and upbeat. D'Abo wasn't bad, but was slightly cheesy and you could see her consciously acting - especially in the more emotional bits *pauses, looks up so voice breaks* but it was typical of the genre. Fans of gymnastics will possibly enjoy this for the technical stuff but you are aware that a body double was used for most of it so it's all a bit silly. Keanu Reeves plays the adorable wannabe/boyfriend (cue more High School "romance" montages) and is even then (age 22?) the most convincing of the actors in the film - everyone else is a little contrived and stage school enunciation/deliberately emotive whereas Reeves is more natural and smooth, and is some needed comic relief in some of the silly scenes predictive of Ted Theodore Logan goofiness.Certainly not the best movie I've ever seen but I quite enjoyed it for what it is - an 80s teen fun film with a few morals/inspirations thrown in especially it's notable by it's inclusion of positive role model black characters that aren't glorified extras and don't conform to negative stereotypes that were common back then, albeit how improbable the relationships are. I applaud the film for showing up the racist character as a total and utter prat, rather than the comic relief (!) and some serious issues are addressed in the film - it's actually a little darker than comparable films.Lots of different names for this film - Flying, Teenage Dream (?) and the one I have is "Dream to Believe" which is daft - Flying makes a lot more sense as it's actually referenced in the film. I do love 80s films and whilst this isn't one of the best, it is what it is and it was fairly entertaining.

This is a fun and entertaining movie for anyone who likes gymnastics. It features Keanu Reeves (pre-"Bill & Ted") as the wannabe boyfriend of aspiring highschool gymnastic champion Olivia D'Abo. One of the more memorable scenes shows Robin & Leah at the drive-in having a tumbling challenge to see who's the "best"--Robin "wins" with a running-roundoff-backhandspring-backflip over a red sportscar. The movie is also completely "80's"--with big hair, pop music and funky clothes. While the technical aspects of the movie leave a bit to be desired, and the plot line is a bit predictable, it does have the requisite happy ending.