I love this film. It's about Ice Hockey (alwasys a good start), and an up and coming US player who goes over the border to Canada to play having been scouted, in the hope of making a career for himself. Starring Rob Lowe as the titular Dean Youngblood, Patrick Swayze as Derek Sutton the Team Captain and Cythia Gibb as the love interest, it's a typical 80's star vehicle when Rob Lowe as a member of the Brat Pack and seemed to be in everything (The Outsiders, St Elmo's Fire, About Last Night etc). Everything about it screams 80s and I'm not entirely sure it's aged well, it's shot very simply but some nice "set pieces" such as Lowe working out or skate-training sessions. The chemistry between Lowe and Swayze is brotherly, a "bromance", after the initiation at least, and they had played brothers only a few years before in The Outsiders - Darry and Sodapop Curtis.
Whilst this is a an underdog-does-good sports film, it isn't so Hollywood and without drama and it's not a typical happy ending. The skating scenes are really good, Swayze throws himself into the physicality of the role in typical fashion. I'm sure some stunt skaters were used but possibly the actors were ice-familiar anyway. Keanu Reeves has a minor (comedic, and with some great one liners) role and was a goalie at school and he plays Heaver, the goalie with the Mustangs. Much of the story is predictable but there's also a few twists, and whilst the acting isn't stunning, Gibb is the weakest link, the skating and the comedy makes this a fab film - especially the bar scene when Dean first joins the team. The love scene is a little cringeworthy (more so when I first saw this) especially in connection with the wonderful Miss McGill (Fionnula Flanagan). I guarantee you'll never hear the phrase "Room Service?" without smiling, and you'll never look at a cup of tea the same way again. LOL.
