Flying

This is a fun and entertaining movie for anyone who likes gymnastics. It features Keanu Reeves (pre-"Bill & Ted") as the wannabe boyfriend of aspiring highschool gymnastic champion Olivia D'Abo. One of the more memorable scenes shows Robin & Leah at the drive-in having a tumbling challenge to see who's the "best"--Robin "wins" with a running-roundoff-backhandspring-backflip over a red sportscar. The movie is also completely "80's"--with big hair, pop music and funky clothes. While the technical aspects of the movie leave a bit to be desired, and the plot line is a bit predictable, it does have the requisite happy ending.

to movie,this movie felt like one of those after school specials,only lower budget and lower everything else.i guess this was supposed to an inspirational movie of some sort,but it didn't work for me.yet some how it comes across as preachy.it has very pale shades of Flash Dance,but so what?there just isn't any excitement in this movie.the dialogue is contrived and clichéd to death.of course,the whole movie feels like a bad 80's cliché.the acting was less than stellar,though that has a lot to do with what the actors were given(or in this case-not)to work with.on top of that is the poor song choices,with really bad lyrics.i felt embarrassed for all the actors involved.they are all talented,but you can't tell from this movie.this is just my opinion of course,but i have to give Flying AKA Dream to Believe a 1/10

In Buffalo, a former gymnast teen (d'Abo) seeks to get back on the team after recovering from an accident. Will she rise up like a phoenix from the ashes to participate in the regional gymnastics competition in Niagara Falls? Reeves plays her potential beau while Rita Tushingham is on hand as the coach.

Shot in autumn, 1984, but not released until 1986, "Teenage Dream" was originally called "Flying," but is also known as "Dream to Believe" (which was the title card of the version I saw). It's a knockoff of "Flashdance" (1983) albeit with the teenage milieu of "Karate Kid" (1984).

The parallels to "Flashdance" are pretty glaring: Instead of being concerned about auditioning for a dance school, the protagonist is concerned about making the school team. Instead of riding a bicycle, she rides a moped. Instead of living in a 'hip' warehouse apartment, she trains at a cool carpet warehouse. Instead of a wealthy beau, she has a rich best friend. Instead of her ballet teacher pal passing away, someone else close dies.

I had a bad attitude about this flick when I first started watching since the dubious version I viewed (from Youtube) had washed out colors, obviously taken from a VHS. However, the story & characters pulled me in enough to enjoy the movie. No, it's not as good as "Flashdance" nor great like "Karate Kid," but if you're in the mood for an 80's flick in the mold of "Dirty Dancing" it's likable and fills the bill just fine despite its predictableness and a few eye-rolling bits. You can't beat the Niagara Falls area locations.

I was interested in the movie because I was curious to see the two stars when they were so young, but also because I'm familiar with a few of director Paul Lynch's other films-specifically "Prom Night" (1980), "Humongous" (1982) and "Bullies" (1986)-and I wanted to see how he'd do in a different genre. Quite good, actually.

While d'Abo is a highlight on the female front, so is brunette Nicole Kolman, who plays the 'hot' stepsister with several possible boyfriends. Kolman only appeared in two films, this one and the similar "Body Moves" (1990). Meanwhile Jessica Steen is notable as best friend, Carla.

I can't close without mentioning the coach's hideous red mullet, which I hoped had gone out of style with Mrs. Brady a full decade earlier.

The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes (full version), and was shot in Toronto and Niagara Falls.

GRADE: B-

What an insult to Olivia D'Abo who plays the film's heroine, Robin, to have Keanu Reeves appear so large on the box art of the film (and at least on recent reissues, to have only Reeves appear on the box), considering that she was the star. I realize that it is his name that will ultimately sell this long-forgotten After School Special, but at least give the woman some credit.

Despite that, this has to be one of the worst teen sports-themed films that I have ever seen, and it strives very hard to add not only every teen and sports movie cliché from the class warfare between the feuding gymnasts to the teen romance. And, in striving to somehow deliver itself as an amateur alternative of Flashdance (with the music in one of the warehouse dance scenes is even quite close to Michael Sembello's notable 'Maniac' which was made famous by Flashdance, or was it the other way around?). It includes similar dance sequences and worse yet, even the 80s dance and sports traditions of corny dance-offs between the heroine and her antagonist(s), the one who doubts her successes and abilities on the team. We saw this in Trashin' (a vert ramp joust) and Rad (BMX dancing at the prom, although it wasn't much for competition, but rather for fun) for example. In fact, this movie is chock full of unrealistic corniness, such as the somewhat homo-erotic rolling in the clothes at the Salvation Army with Robin and her friend from the team.

Nonetheless, the film is about a young girl who comes from a rather poor background. To top it off in a massive need to squeeze from audiences as much sympathy as possible, she lives with her ailing mother, her obnoxious sister, and her careless (and slightly abusive) stepfather. Needless to say, homelife is not so appealing. Add to the mix, a talent for gymnastics, but several obstacles to joining the team (including the nuisance of her arrogant, snobby teammates, and a coach who also eventually doubts her abilities to compete well). And, of course, we can't forget that she's got eyes for one of the pretty boy preppies who is dating one of the obnoxious teammates, nor that she doesn't have a steady boyfriend (although Keanu as Tommy later enters the picture). Could this kid be any more pathetic? And it seems that one mess after another comes along to embarrass herself in her painfully long, redundant, and clichéd quest to prove her worth to everyone.

But, even the major moments of cheesiness which comprise most of the film, are hardly worth mentioning considering that the biggest distraction to this film is the horrible acting and dialog. (I like how the gym coach suddenly appears at the diner in the middle of the dance-off to scold the teammates). It makes episodes of 'Amazing Stories' look like Shakespeare.

I imagine anyone able to locate this film and watch it these days is probably drawn to it mostly because of the nostalgic factor. For that you might be satisfied, but it is also an incredibly forced drama. So, Caveat Emptour.

10 years ago I searched for a copy of this movie on dvd. Or vhs NO EVIDENCE IT EVER EXISTED! And somehow even as Keanu Reeves debut movie IT DID NOT EXIST!!!! I REMBER THIS MOVIE I WATCHED IT REPEATEDLY! IT WAS CALLED FLYING CAUSE THE TEAM WAS CALLED THE NIAGARA FLYERS... and the part where the Robin talks about how it feels to be on the poles .. she feels like she is flying and no one and nothing .. including Bob or anyone else can touch her! But I went searching for a copy of this film on dvd.. it does not exist .. I had to cross reference the actors. Olivia and Keanu.. and I found only one movie at the same time "DREAM TO BELIEVE". I checked it is nearly identical. There are a lot of differences.. many changes.. but it is almost the same movie.. it was NEVER CALLED DREAM TO BELIEVE.. ON MY COPY OF THE MOVIE I WATCHED REPEATEDLY!!! It was called FLYING.. the cover of the movie showed Olivia D'abo in her gymnastics body suit in a dismount midair. Her name was starring Olivia D'Abo .. I know that for a perfect fact! No mistakes no way I am wrong or mistaken.. yet here the only copy of this movie on vhs that I can find now!!!! Is only called "dream to believe" wtf! Shows Keanu Reeves only. even though he is just a minor character in the movie definitely not a main character nor is this movie about him he has little airtime. yet in Dream to believe.. he and only he is on the cover ! Olivia is on the back. In a stylized handstand ...wtf? What's going on? I know there is a phenomena called the " Mandela Effect" where a lot of people distinctly remember something in pop culture one way.. and others show it's a completely different proof it's different for example .. the Berenstain Bears ..many ppl remember it spelled that way. And now the books only show Berenstein bears... spelling. And many people swear they saw a movie called Shazam starring Sinbad as a Genie .. when in fact the real movie was KAZAM starring Shaq as a Genie .. I get if they re released the movie years later putting the focus on Keanu after her got famous.. but. Why change the name .. but I checked Wikipedia. No where did it say the film was originally called Flying! This has always bugged me that I could not find it. But tonight on a hunch I checked IMDb I found it! See I knew I was not crazy! But Keanu is still on the cover so it's not the original release ? Hmm still confused .. he barely has 20 mins screen time