An ice skating romance from 1978 starring Lynn-Holly Johnson (in her film debut) & Robby Benson. Johnson is the toast of this small town as her skating prowess begs that she compete which she does wowing the crowd at the regionals & gaining the attention of a high profile instructor. Her hometown coach, played by Colleen Dewhurst, & her dad, Tom Skerritt, both push her towards that direction when she seems reluctant which reaps big rewards (in terms of attention since her new coach has enlisted the help of a newsman to do a series of profiles on her) as she unnerves the reigning champion on the ice. However when things are going her way, a freak accident (she trips over some cables while skating at night causing her to sustain a concussion which causes partial blindness) which sends her home in a funk ready to give up everything but when Benson reenters the picture (he's going through his own sports pains as he tries to get a hockey career going), he pushes her to forego her sight impediment to show the world she still has the goods. Not aging particularly well, this variation on the Rocky formula suffers from plot conventions which even when this film was made was feeling a bit long in the tooth w/every authority figure taking their turns to berate poor Johnson whenever her eyes would well up after a disappointment. Johnson, who did her own skating (a talent used again in the James Bond adventure For Your Eyes Only from 1981), is good for the type of role she's playing but one feels she's merely playing the colors of a part which are of the 'paint by numbers' variety. Benson is his usual wide eyed, innocent self (he was quite the movie star during the 70's & early 80's but most people will know him as the voice of Beast from Disney's Beauty & the Beast animated feature) who does what he can in a role which in retrospect feels specious & undetermined. This film would get a remake in 2010.
