An Ice Palace Romance simply did not end up being as likeable as I initially thought. I loved the characters initially, including Lori's coworker, who was light and funny. He really looked and gestured similarly to Mario Cantone, from Sex and the City. I also loved their chemistry as friends/coworkers, so that made me initially think the whole movie would be fun. Instead, Lori quickly morphs into the 'nose for news' journalist that left her heart in Chicago and became an itinerant snob in her hometown.
It was difficult to like Lori, because she seemed to think that she was beyond criticism or reproach; she was resistant to the male lead, Mark (Marcus Rosner), for an extraordinary length of time, and I failed to see why he wanted to be with her so badly. Maybe it was her taking a liking to his daughter, which WAS a good aspect to the movie. However, that seemed flimsy, and it only became more grating as she eventually pulled an unthinkable move on him.
The good aspects of this movie included the realistic actors that played the side roles. I loved seeing people of all shapes and sizes and features.
There were mysterious details that I may have missed. Why was there a need to have a camera person following Lori always? That seems exorbitantly unrealistic, and they didn't really develop the friendship at all. (They meet, shoot something together, and suddenly are like old friends.) The architect and camera-person are adorable, and that storyline just didn't launch at all.
I also enjoyed seeing the familiar actress playing the Mayor, but she was a complete weirdo in that scene where she asks Lori "Are you sure that is all you are here to do ?(work)" (sic) - i saw serious snark in that facial expression, but wasn't sure why/what made the Mayor suddenly want to put Lori in her place. She also seemed stuck on herself, along with Lori.
The basic gist: the characters had so much promise, but the majority were either unused or seemingly elitist for no apparent reason. Mark was a great character, as well as the young girl who played his daughter. I appreciated her skating talent, and the fact that she could clearly skate in real life.
