Ski Patrol

It may not appeal to many viewers but I have always loved this film. To me it really captures the energy that being out on the slopes generates. There have been some awful reviews but its a comedy, its bound to be a little stupid & it gets my vote every time. There are many scenes that get me laughing each time & i've had the same VHS for years, since it was out in the video stores. My favourite if i had to choose would be the singing contest that Stanley and the ice man storm with their vibrant energy & hilarious attitude. I'm an art student and its a favourite of all my friends. My only complaint is that its not on DVD, all the out-takes, bloopers, interviews (there must have been some) and all the extras that everyone loves on DVD. Its a must see & don't compare it to conventional comedy thats now so old hat that its not funny anymore, this is a film that stands out on its own & deserves more respect than it had before. Re-release it on DVD please!

Now, I had actually never seen, much less ever heard about, this 1990 comedy titled "Ski Patrol" before now as 2022 is about to come to a closure. And thus I sat down to watch it, of course. I figured I would be in for a movie in the likes of the many slapstick comedies of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Writers Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle and Wink Roberts put together a fair enough script here for director Richard Correll to bring to life on the screen. As it turned out, then I hadn't exactly been missing out of a comedy gem here. If you have seen any comedies from the late 1980s and early 1990s, then you know what you are getting here with "Ski Patrol", for better or worse.

Something that impressed me about "Ski Patrol" was the cast ensemble. There was a good handful of familiar faces on the cast list here, with the likes of Leslie Jordan, Paul Feig, George Lopez, Steve Hytner and Ray Walston.

For a comedy then there wasn't really all that much to laugh about throughout the course of the 91 minutes that the movie ran for. And on that account then "Ski Patrol" wasn't really an outstanding or memorable early 1990s comedy.

"Ski Patrol" was watchable, sure, but it is not a movie that I will ever return to watch again. There were far more entertaining and funny comedies from the same era, so this one sort of barely got by.

My rating of "Ski Patrol" lands on a five out of ten stars.

If you prefer movies that make you think and challenge your mind and opinions in ways you didn't think possible, stay away from this movie. If you like movies that are filled with political incorrectness and mindless fun, have at it.

This movie was made in a more innocent time when people could make a movie without worrying if someone would complain about being politically incorrect. The same time when most of my favorite movies were made. For some who are concerned about this type of thing, there are times when they poke fun at characters for different things (for example one of them being bothered by being short) but it's more of good natured teasing than spiteful attacks.

One of the most memorable characters would have to be an individual by the name of suicide who has a few screws loose and does some outlandish things while trying to feel a rush.

I saw this movie for the first time when I was 19, and it's remained one of my favorites of all time. Not because it has in in depth and compelling story, because it doesn't. It was made during a time when a movie could be about next to nothing and still be good. For example, Breakfast Club was about 5 kids in detention. This movie is good, light hearted fun that I can watch again and again.

As a teen in the 1980's and someone prone to watching all sorts of b, c and z-grade movie junk, I was somewhat surprised when I came across this 1990 title recently. Surprised as in wondering how I could not have seen or even heard of this flick before. I mean, as the proud owner of Hot Dog The Movie and Ski School 1 AND 2 (not to mention all the Police Academy movies), it almost seemed like a cinematic misdemeanor that I hadn't seen Ski Patrol.

I suppose I should say that had I saw Ski Patrol back in 1990, doubtless I would have shaken my head in contempt at how dumb and inept Ski Patrol was. And I wouldn't have been incorrect in thinking so. Then again, when the biggest names in your movie are Ray Walston and Martin Mull - and even those two are barely in the movie for all of 15 minutes - expectations shouldn't be set particularly high.

Even by that diminished standard, Ski Patrol is very lacking in several of the key areas that constitute the archetypal 1980's wacky teen boner comedy and despite being released in 1990, Ski Patrol is VERY much along the lines of a 1980's wacky teen boner comedy...albeit an inept one.

Ski Patrol DOES establish the Snobs vs. Slobs/Unlikeable Winners vs. Lovable Losers scenario, so at least that box got checked off. The problem lies squarely with the casting, in that the cast is chock full of non-charismatic, unfunny, amateurish actors doing non-memorable, unfunny things. It's just one of those deals with a comedy where if the comedy falls flat the movie falls flat. By that score, Ski Patrol is the equivalent of a can of soda opened and left sitting on a counter for several hours. A lot of second- and third-rate sight gags and scenarios that perhaps a kid of 6 years old would find mildly amusing. Which, I suppose is in keeping with the PG rating. Yep, Ski Patrol is rated PG. Now, why a movie is clearly trying to be a wacky teen boner comedy yet also attain a PG rating is a mystery to me. Not even a PG-13 with a brief glimpse of some side boob. Nope. A single 10 second shot of a couple of girls in some not particularly skimpy bikinis is about all the sensuality this flick has to offer.

What I will say Ski Patrol DOES have are some great sequences of people doing advanced skiing. No, really. I found the skiing sequences well filmed and exciting to watch. So, there's that, I suppose.

Even with all that said, though, it'd be a bit too easy to beat up on this 35-year-old failed comedy too much. And Ski Patrol really doesn't deserve to be beat up on that much, either. It's just this non-offensive, unfunny movie...a bit of a rip-off in terms of sort of representing itself as something it wasn't re: the boner comedy angle - since it was neither funny nor revealing - but hardly a crime against humanity. Something clearly designed back then to churn out a quick buck in a few theaters, a few more quick bucks in the video rental stores then be duly forgotten.

It may really suck but I loved it! Police academy type movie with ski patrolers instead of cops! I really loved the horrible jokes played on each other and the horrible 80's fashion. It really cracks me up! Then again, my parents were ski patrolers and I grew up around 'em. AND the first time I watched the movie was when i was 8 :) (that always makes a horrible movie into a good one!) Personally, I found this movie much more amusing than some current "dumb funny movies". Besides, there really aren't too many ski movies that aren't a "teenage party" movie- or at least that i've ran in to

I finally found a copy at Goodwill and I bought it! Now I finally have a copy and wont have to keep renting it at the video store.