Liebe und Eis

Take a handsome young ex-hockey star who could never do much other than skate, a prima-donna figure-skater who finds fault with every world-class partner thrown her way and laughs at said ex-hockey star, and an obligatory crazy-genius Soviet expatriate, send them all after Olympic glory, and you have The Cutting Edge.

Lead characters Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) and Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) are star-crossed skaters: an eye injury at the Olympics ruined Doug's hockey career, while an ill-timed fall in the pairs figure skating finals leaves Kate's destiny unfulfilled. Coach Anton Pamchenko (Roy Dotrice) fishes Dorsey out of a construction site and transplants him to the Moseley estate in Greenwich. The fish-out-of-water concept was not as blatant as Pauly Shore's movies, but it was definitely there.

The stereotypical supporting cast did its job: Terry O'Quinn is the wealthy, doting father who is either obsessed with an Olympic medal for his daughter, or obsessed with his daughter who happens to want an Olympic medal (the movie never really makes clear which), while snobby fiancé Hale Forrest (Dwier Brown) is forgettable yet necessary to the plot, as is Walter Dorsey (Chris Benson), Doug's stereotypical nuts-and-bolts, slightly homophobic and very skeptical brother.

With Breakfast Club-like cost-efficiency, the film sticks to the dialogue between the few main characters, who are on screen for the large majority of the film. The questions are timeless: will Kate marry her snobby fiancé or will passion erupt from the love-hate relationship with her skating partner? Will they overcome the judging bias against ex-hockey players and win gold? Will Kate loosen up? Will Doug gain some culture and refinement? One could say that this film is predictable, but that is a good thing. Films like The Cutting Edge lose very little even if you've heard the story told a hundred times in a dozen ways. Suspense is not the goal here; romance is, and this film serves up more of it than almost every media-hyped "blockbuster" I've ever seen.

It's the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary. Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) is a promising hockey player, but his career is cut short by an eye injury. Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is a spoiled temperamental pairs figure skater who goes through every partner. Then 2 years later, Moseley still can't find a partner, and Dorsey can't find a team. Her coach Anton Pamchenko decides to put them together despite their combative relationship.

They have good chemistry together. Their combative nature is the perfect heat for a relationship. It is a fundamental building block to a good rom-com. That's what we have here. Two perfectly match solid actors doing a good rom-com. Moira Kelly has the perfect indignant pout, and Sweeney has a great sly smirk.

The Cutting Edge is a classic movie and one which I never get tired of watching.

The chemistry between Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney really sells this picture, even before you see the impressive scenery and fantastic skating sequences.

The script is filled with quotable gems, (It's not like his nose was perfect) and what could be a fairly thin story (that, OK, has been done before) is lifted firmly out of the cliche zone by first class direction, a thumping early 90's pop soundtrack and breathtaking choreography.

I can't fault this movie - it's one of my top five - and would recommend it as a family favourite.

This movie gets a very enthusiastic 10/10 from me.

As a figure skater, my movie choices of my profession are rather limited. If you take out Ronin, in which Katarina Witt is shot, Ice Castle, which I hated, the Cutting Edge is practically the only one left. I loved it. Sure the movie wasn't realistic, but it was good none the less. Wholesome and the skating sequences weren't bad. I loved the Pamchenko. My parter and I even attempted it a few times. Overall, definitely watch this if you are a fan of skating or just have an afternoon to watch a movie. I've seen it more than 20 times...this movie is timeless. My coach plays clips from this movie to us when we are waiting for our turn to compete and even at the celebration parties. I love it.

I like this movie. First off, you have underrated actors DB Sweeney and Moira Kelly showing their stuff. It is probably their best film they have made. The chemistry is great between the two. You can tell that when they fly insults at each other. The whole cast does a good job and the scenery is nice. I usually don't like films that use Canada as a backdrop for a US city, but in this case, It does a good job as a replacement for Minnesota and suburban New England.

My favorite scene is where they are ready to skate their first performance together. Doug goes backstage and lets out some of his bodily fluids. He goes back to explain to Kate that he always had two helmets and it usually took him 10 minutes to warm up for a game. Kate reminds him that their program is only 2 1/2 minutes. He stares blankly at her and says, "So eight minutes afterward, I'll be okay" LOL. I always think of that line when I am nervous and going into something major.

There are a few cameos by other skating personalities such as Robin Cousins (who also was the technical advisor) and Jo Jo Starbuck. There aren't many ice skating films out there and there are a few that are good. This is one of the few. TOEPICK!!!