Love on Ice

Spencer Patterson, a young figure skating coach, is hired to coach Nikki Lee, a teenager from Lakeville, Michigan, who shows great promise as a skater. (There is in fact no town called Lakeville in Michigan, although there is a town of that name in Minnesota). At the rink Spencer meets another Lakeville resident, a young woman named Emily James, who herself was once one of America's leading figure skaters but who mysteriously walked away from the sport eight years ago. (We later learn the reason why she did so). Emily now works as a waitress in a cafe, but spends her spare time at the rink, teaching young children to skate.

Spencer invites Emily to assist him with coaching Nikki, and realising that Emily still has great talent for the sport asks her if she would be willing to return to competition with him as her coach. After some hesitation, Emily agrees, but this situation is not to the liking of Nikki's pushy mother, Mia, who sacks Spencer as Nikki's coach and instead appoints Emily's old coach, Leslie Adams.

Which leaves only two questions to be answered. "Will Nikki or Emily win when the two of them skate off against one another in an important regional competition?" and "Will the handsome Spencer and the pretty Emily find love together?" And as the film is called "Love on Ice" we all know what the answer to that second question will be.

I normally avoid the Hallmark Channel and its works like the plague, but I watched this one because of my keen interest in figure skating, a sport largely overlooked by the movie industry. Unfortunately, it only served to remind me just why I don't like Hallmark. Their stated intention is to make "family" movies, but there is more to making family films than a scrupulous avoidance of sex, violence and bad language. You also have to make something that will hold the family's interest, and I suspect that if a film like this had been offered to me when I was a child, I would have been bored to tears. And so would my parents and siblings.

Apart from Leslie, who has a spiteful side to her nature, all the characters are just so nice. We never get any sense of rivalry between Nikki and Emily, because both are as sweet and wholesome as apple pie. It doesn't really matter which of them wins the skating contest, because both will take the god medal for cuteness. Spencer is a thoroughly decent young chap. Mia may be pushy and overbearing, but we sense that her heart is really in the right place and that she only wants the best for her talented daughter. The result is a film without any real conflict or drama, except briefly in some of the Leslie scenes, which means a film without any real interest.

Also, the skating scenes struck me as unrealistic; I could never accept either Emily or Nikki (or whoever was acting as their stunt doubles) as elite skaters, performing single jumps where real elite skaters would perform doubles or (preferably) triples. To describe the film in skating terms, it lacks technical merit and fails to make an artistic impression. 4/10.

The chemistry between the main characters could have been better. It was nice to see girls competing and yet remaining friends who are rooting for each other. However, I can't help but wonder - would they really be competing in the same category? Also, I think Linda Kash (who plays Hildy) reminds me of someone else I recognize, but I still can't figure out who it is!

Nearly all of the comments and reviews I've seen claim this film is a knockoff of the popular Japanese anime, Yuri!!! on Ice. It's true there are some similarities (though not nearly as many as some claim), but let's instead focus on the differences.

This film has its flaws, but what it does well is provide a squeaky-clean, family-friendly story the entire family can enjoy. If you don't mind the usual Hallmark formula, then this might very well be a film for you. The characters bring a refreshing wholesomeness to the screen, and the setting feels familiar and pleasant.

Grab some hot chocolate and a blanket, kick back with Mom on the sofa, and give Love on Ice a try! It's a feel-good film, and it's perfect for the audience it's geared toward.

Never mind the ice skating leader board, it's this film that's a winner! 9-9-9! Lovely clean film full of wholesome exercise, beautiful ice dancing and warm cafe with friends moments. Everyone is slim and good looking so now's the time to start my diet so that I can "get back" in shape ready to watch Emily James "get back" to competitive skating. Romance quite rightly takes a back seat until the end of the competition so hang in there til the end. Lovely film.

The 2017 Winterfest films were a mixed bag, for example 'A Royal Winter' was pretty good while 'A Rose for Christmas' disappointed (even with Rachel Boston in it). Other than Hallmark completest sake, my main reason for seeing 'Love on Ice' was Andrew Walker. Have always found him very watchable and while his leading ladies have varied he has near-consistently been one of Hallmark's better regular leading men (which accounts for why he is as popular as he is).

'Love on Ice' isn't a great film and is uneven, but it is a very decent effort on the whole and a pleasant way to pass the theme so long as not too much is expected. As far as the 2017 Winterest films go, 'Love on Ice' is in the middle. Not as good as 'A Royal Winter', but better than 'A Rose for Christmas'. It is a decent representation too of Walker, though other Hallmark (and Lifetime on a less relevant note) films before and since show him off even better.

A lot is good. Walker is charismatic in an understated and has a natural charm and good nature. Julie Berman isn't as consistent and starts off not as promisingly, but when her character and she relaxes she is engaging and likeable. The supporting cast are solid and the characters generally didn't bore or irritate (the one exception being Berman's early on). The film looks good, well shot and the scenery is beautiful. The music is not too overused or too constant, both of which can be a problem with Hallmark.

Furthermore, the script on the whole is light hearted and has a playfulness and warmth without being too sentimental. The story generally is charming and doesn't take itself too seriously while treating it as a joke too. Doing well at lightening and warming the heart.

Having said all that, 'Love on Ice' isn't perfect. Would have liked more chemistry between Walker and Berman, it's there at times but it's generally too subdued. Plus Berman doesn't get off to a promising start, found her a bit too severe and not always comfortable.

Did think too that 'Love on Ice' is on the slow and awkward side to begin with with Berman's character also not being easy to warm to. So much more could have been done with Dave and Hildy's subplot, which had a lot of heart but was left incomplete. The very ending of the film felt rushed and abrupt too.

So all in all, decent and inoffensive if not exceptional. 6/10.