Youngblood

There are a lot of angry Canadian people expressing hatred for this movie. I can totally understand where they are coming from. I play the game of hockey, and I find it hard to believe that every time a player touches the ice, he's scoring goals. Added to that, how he learns to fight, and works out for a week, and all of a sudden beats up a guy that kicked his butt a couple of weeks before. BUT.... You also have to understand something else. Since Slap Shot, an undoubtedly awesome classic to all hockey fans around the world, there had not been an attempt at a movie that mainly focused on hockey. The makers of this movie had to be creative to attract attention for the sport. For example, the stick fight, the constant beautiful goals, the way he won the fight. It had some reality to it like the jokes played on the rookie in the bar and when they shave him, you know, down there. The way he was put up in someones house. The most impressive thing about the movie, was the beginning and how it set up the rest of the movie. It starts with a home video of Dean(Rob Lowe) when he was very young playing with his older brother and their friends. It shows how clearly dominant he was and that leads into the present time with him saying, "I've been offered a tryout with the Hamilton Mustangs." And to Canadians who feel like this movie disrespected your great sport (yes, i mean GREAT sport), remember this. When they are on their way to Canada, Deans older brother who is driving him says you are gonna have to learn, "Oh, Canada" and also when Dean says, "They'll never catch me" showing cockiness like he's superior to anyone in the league, his brother says, "Oh, they'll catch you." I love hockey, I loved this movie. Did it have it's flaws? Yeah, plenty of them. But if you're looking for an inspiring, action filled drama, give this movie a whirl.

I loved it in terms of hockey. But at times found it quite cheesy and poorly written, but in terms of hockey I liked it but defiantly could've been better. I find most hockey movies to appeal an American audience tends to always need to include fighting and violence -- although I do agree the fighting adds emotion, but I'm the one hockey fan that can live without the fighting.

What I found cheesy was before I watched the movie I thought the title was deemed towards the premise being a young hockey player hoping to go pro, but making Youngblood the character's last name. I think what they should've done was given him a true last name that hockey fans would take seriously. But the other thing was should've done the whole junior thing a lot differently because it's not a tryout for juniors, you get drafted or invited. Also, trading in sports always makes the story better as I wish they traded Racki away or Youngblood is traded away because the team didn't believe in him or a team gave him a second chance because they saw what he could do.

Other than that, it's a good hockey movie. I just think the movie would be a lot more relevant had they done things right in a genuine hockey perspective.

While there have been many posts stating that this movie is a poor representation of what hockey is really like, I must disagree. I have played hockey up to the college level, and I have had more than one occasion to tryout or play for junior teams in Canada. While many specifics in the movie are exagerated, the parts that people seem to be most offended by are the parts that are true. There is something to be said for rinks that have chain link fencing in stead of glass, every tryout has one or two guys that trip over the blue line untouched, fighting at tryouts, and yes, there are Canadian towns which are old and run down. The social aspects of the movie are definately true: the woman that every guy has been with, the initiating of the rookie, silly girls at the local bar, and of course, the unruley fans. While the movie does take some creative liscence, it is an accurate representation of what life is like for a hockey player trying to make it in junior hockey. I love this movie. It is a must see for anyone who plays the game.

Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) is a skilled teen hockey player in upstate New York. He gets a tryout for a junior league team in Hamilton. His father refuses but his older brother Kelly convinces him otherwise. Kelly had tried but got injured. Dean's speed beats out the brute Racki in the eyes of coach Chadwick. The team led by captain Derek Sutton (Patrick Swayze) hazes the rookie. The coach's daughter Jessie (Cynthia Gibb) is intrigued. His landlady Miss McGill (Fionnula Flanagan) has boarded and seduced many hockey players in the past.

This is a pretty average coming-of-age movie. Rob Lowe is a charming young guy. Gibb is winsome. Swayze plays a good older mentor like he does in Dirty Dancing. Keanu Reeves gets a small role early in his career. It has a couple of memorable scenes like the hazing. It's not particularly outstanding but it does the job.

Maybe it's because I neither follow hockey nor care for it, or maybe it's because I'm a 15-year-old female teenager, but I liked this movie. Sure, it's nothing special or extraordinary, in fact its plot has been done a million times. But I just liked it. It's virtually impossible not to like Dean Youngblood (and it's got nothing to do with the fact that Rob Lowe is hot) and to cheer for him when he finally learns how to hit a guy. The romance between Dean and Jessie actually doesn't seem forced; the two of them have a certain chemistry that is quite obvious to viewers like myself. Cynthia Gibb is all-natural in her role as Jessie, and Patrick Swayze evokes empathy in the viewer as the high-school drop-out who is *this close* to being a pro hockey player. But it is Rob Lowe who basically carried the whole movie, and once again, it has got nothing to do with the fact that he is hot.

Overall, this is a feel-good hockey movie that I liked. I usually can't stand sports movies, as I hate sports with an intense passion, but this one is just...well, it's just nice. And then there's Rob Lowe...