Ice Dreams (2009)

Simply A Masterpiece

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

If there are any moments where somebody does something stupid in this film it is natural and flows out of the action. I say that because another film I rated as the most rotten film I have viewed in my life raised stupidity to the maximum.I have watched this movie from Hallmark on the Hallmark Movie channel about five times now. Have you ever had that feeling that with hundreds of channels that there is nothing worth watching? Well, this movie is worth watching. It was not made to win any Academy awards or even be nominated for one. It is like a comfortable old shoe you should probably have got rid of but keep wearing because it is comfortable. It is similar to Singing in the Rain or Easter Parade for me. I have enough misery in my life and don't need any more added with movies like On the Waterfront. I don't care that On the Waterfront won 8 Oscars. I prefer Ice Dreams. If you are feeling down then watch this movie. It will make you feel a little bit better.

Truth be told, I enjoyed this flick better than some of the recent hallmark productions simply because it doesn't seem to have any pretensions. It's very watchable, unlike , say Smooch, which makes you cringe all the way through.Just a nice simple flick using a well-known formula in a well-liked sport setting. Don't really mind, at least the actors get something to do. And the cast is actually very nice, does a nice job and seems to have good interaction going but perhaps the female lead, though very likable, is too hyper. The male lead doesn't seem to have much to do other than sitting and thinking and worrying. Kinda sympathise with him. He appears quite justly bored with his role. It's like volcano meets an iceberg with those two. She's in the lead, he follows. Overall, shaky production but pleasant to look at.

Of the three movies on the Hallmark Channel this Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend, given its bland description in the TV listings, this is the one I expected to like the least. But despite it's being a formulaic sports film, it was so well-written, -cast, and -executed, that I found it more enjoyable than the movie that preceded it on the schedule, one with more well-known actors.As the sport in this film is figure skating, one might imagine that in casting, they'd need either skaters who could act or actors who could skate, or both, including one who could handle a hockey stick. In one case, however, they partially double-cast the final competition's underdog by casting an ingénue who could skate well enough for most of the scenes, and hiring a more proficient skater for the more difficult jumps and turns. Whichever the case, all performances here are faultless.If you like feel-good movies about sports competition, this is one I'd recommend if for no other reason than gets its point and emotion across in a shorter amount of time than most.

Just the same old story of a teacher who goes on a leave of absence when he inherits an ice skating rink from his uncle.The place is literally going broke and is run by Jerry Stiller.The new owner finds a girl who skates there each evening. She made the Olympics, but a career ended in a tragic accident that took the life of her father. Sounds familiar? Of course, there is a younger girl to coach, the latter a product of a divorce, and the father couldn't care less about her.While this is cliché, it works nicely due to good performances by the cast. Nice seeing Shelly Long again, this time in the role of the widowed mother of our coach.Of course, the rink is in jeopardy of closing due to financial difficulties but of course that's resolved. What else is basically new here?