Winter Break

Matt has a Wall Street job waiting for him. This is a good thing because he has a quarter of a million dollars of school debt to begin paying off. Unfortunately, the company merges with another one and, before he even gets to start, Matt is let loose. His college roommates are going to go to Aspen for a year of skiing, low paying jobs, goofing off, and scouting women. Matt, in his despair, decides to join them. It is there that he meets the beautiful Michelle, a young ski instructor. But, horrors! She has a bonafide Wall Street boyfriend and only wants to be pals with Matt. Will Matt be able to find a new path, in life and in love? This is not a bad movie. The principal actors are not picture postcard pretty and that makes them more interesting. The script is typical male humor, mostly, but has some intelligent moments. The Aspen setting is, naturally, quite lovely, a true bonus for all viewers. If you like a storyline of romance and finding oneself among newly graduated college students, you will like this movie. It has a boys will be boys undertow, but hits all the right marks when push comes to shove.

I really liked this movie. Its fun and the characters are likable. the plot is your typical "I graduated, now what" theme, but its still well worth watching. I truly enjoyed the movie, but the best part was the soundtrack. The songs are all by relative unknowns who actually write their own stuff. Check out freshtracksmusic.com for the soundtrack and more music along the same lines. There are a few familiar faces in the movie, but the for the most part the cast is young actors who you might recognize if you watch a lot of films. I found it when I got on a kick of watching lower budget, straight to video films. I found a few good ones and lots of average ones. I put this one in the good category. If you like skiing and are a sucker for a cute romantic comedy, then this film is for you.

Sheer Bliss is a movie that rises above the general stupidity that is so typical of today's "teen movies" and has a surprising amount of substance. Perhaps this is because it takes place after college, but the characters are not as juvenile and the movie isn't about grossing the audience out. Naturally, with the presence of American Pie's Eddie Kaye Thomas and newcomer Justin Urich, the film definitely has its characters of comic relief. Primarily a love story about a guy chasing after a girl (who has a boyfriend), it doesn't drag on like so many other such films(Loser for instance). Having seen both the original version of the film in its rough form and the final version, the director did a fine job of cutting excess baggage and allowing the film to move along. The skiing in the film is well done with cinematography to match. Supporting characters to newcomer Milo Ventimiglia (who is likeable without being sappy and pathetic) are well done and come off as people you would like to know. Maggie Lawson as Michelle is a great character simply because she is smart, funny and sexy. A rare trio for female characters in "teen" movies. The movie is a great mixture of comedy, drama and romance, and definitely a good date movie. It's worth seeing, because despite how it may be advertised, it is a departure from the traditional teen flick.

Also, for you James Bond fans out there, one-time James Bond George Lazenby makes an appearance as Campbell. It's nice to see him after 32 years.

The box for SHEER BLISS (also known as SNOW JOB and WINTER BREAK) reads, "Better than warm apple pie". This is no doubt an attempt to fool the consumer that SHEER BLISS is an AMERICAN PIE-style comedy when in reality, it is anything but. In fact, the only thing this movie has in common with AMERICAN PIE is cast member Eddie Kaye Thomas.

SHEER BLISS is the hardest kind of movie to comment on. It's a movie that isn't bad, but not really good either. The movie doesn't seem complete. It appears to be like a very rough cut of what could possibly be a great movie. Nothing really clicks. Everything seems flat and emotionless. The humor forced. The characters one dimensional. In the end, the viewer is left unsure how to feel about the movie since it seems incomplete. *1/2

For a movie that I thought would be just a little boring film this ended up being a highly entertaining film. It made me laugh and was so good my wife caught the end and had to watch the whole thing from the begining. The acting was okay but was not horrible. It was better than a B movie would be. This could have possible done well with a wide release with a very little more work. As a video release this movie was great. I am trying to find a copy to buy now. Go see this movie when you get a chance. It is well worth it.