Love on Ice

Characters were appealing and worked well together! It had its moments for sure, but my god, that obnoxious mother character was more than outrageous! I understand & know of skating moms just like her, but what a pain in the ass she was! Living her life through her daughter made her a pathetic annoyance. Thank goodness the other characters were pleasant!

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.

A young skater's mother hires a coach from out of town to take over her daughter's training. When he comes to town, Spencer (Andrew W. Walker) enlists the aid of a former champion, Emily (Julie Berman), who skates at the local rink and has a good relationship with the young girl.

Spencer soon realizes that Emily ---who inexplicably walked away from the sport years ago---still has what it takes to compete. He begins to coach her, too. Of course, feelings follow, as this is a Hallmark romance.

The story is somewhat weak and very predictable. But the characters are likable.

Ana Golja plays the young skater, Nikki Lee. Her mother is played by Gail O'Grady and she really captures that skating mother vibe: overly-demanding, aggressive, and too involved.

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.

I expected this to be romantic, but it was more a movie about encouragement, positivity, and that attaining your goals should be enjoyable. Andrew Walker plays Spencer, who I loved in the Hallmark movie A Dream for Christmas. Spencer, a figure skating coach, is hired to coach a young, talented, figure skater named Nikki. Nikki's mother is one of those pushy, demanding, moms whose only goal is to see her daughter win. When Spencer arrives in town, he heads to the local coffee shop where he meets Emily. Emily is a part-time waitress at the coffee shop and also teaches figure skating at the local rink. More than that, Emily was a talented skater who dropped out of the Midwest Trials eight years ago. Spencer immediately knows who she is and convinces her to start training for the trials again and offers to coach her.

There is an attraction between Spencer and Emily, but I don't think there was any real chemistry that came through on camera. I was hoping for a little more romance. Other subplots were interesting, but one, in particular, was left open. I felt the ending left me feeling cut off. Overall it was a pleasant movie but not as touching as some of the other Hallmark movies.