Aspen - Dinheiro, Sedução e Perigo

"Aspen Extreme" (1993) is a ski flick about two guys from Detroit who decide to throw the dice and move to Aspen where they're hired as ski instructors. TJ is a walking stud with loads of charm (Paul Gross), but his buddy Dex, albeit likable, is a problem waiting to happen (Peter Berg). TJ catches the eye of two women: a local DJ, Robin (Teri Polo), and a high society vamp, Bryce (Finola Hughes). Meanwhile TJ and Dex seek to win an important powder skiing contest.

Someone described "Aspen Extreme" as "Top Gun on skis" and that's a good brief description as both films balance the drama with the action and have rockin' soundtracks. But there are huge differences in that "Top Gun" takes place at a prestigious military flight school and therefore involves military personnel, whereas "Aspen Extreme" is about two regular dudes who ride into Aspen with only their van and essential belongings. Furthermore, "Top Gun" takes place in San Diego, whereas "Aspen Extreme" takes place in Aspen, Colorado, where the film was shot (along with some opening scenes in Michigan).

You would think that the sport of skiing would have delivered up numerous movies over the years, but I can think of only two serious films on the topic -- this one and 1969's "Downhill Racer" with Robert Redford and Gene Hackman. Go figure. In any event, "Downhill Racer" is a favorite film of mine and "Aspen Extreme" doesn't come close to its greatness. Still, it's well-done for what it is.

There are a couple of scenes that standout: A scene where Dex foolishly decides to make some easy money as a drug courier. The sequence effectively shows how prone to paranoia you can get when you KNOW you're doing something wrong. Another scene effectively reveals a character's casual (and sick) love-'em-and-leave-'me mentality, and I'm not talking about a dude.

The mountain scenery is breathtaking, but there's one roll-your-eyes scene where one of the guys falls into a deep crevasse that has water in it (at that elevation in the middle of winter?). But, hey, it's Hollywood.

Some people complain about the film devolving into melodrama, but I never got this impression. The story takes place over the course of a couple of winters and is just showing the highlights. With the exception of the scene noted above, nothing struck me as radically over-the-top or out of the realm of possibility.

Teri Polo is a huge plus as she's very young and beautiful.

The film runs 113 minutes.

GRADE: B-

We got cable finally when I was ten or eleven and I must have watched this movie with my little sister twenty times. I recall first seeing Teri Polo in this film, and look how she turned out. Also, Peter Berg, an accomplished film director now. His Dexter Rutecki, though probably a poorly written part, was always resonant with me.

Then there was the rival instructor with the accent. Wasn't he in Spandau Ballet? Ah, memories. It gets certain moods right, like being in a Mountain town at the end of ski season. There's great footage of skiing and the story is probably crappy now, but it was enthralling enough for me when I was 11.

Aspen Extreme to me is a genuine classic in that it is one of only few movies that best depicts the cultural, demographic and geographic way of life in a Rocky mountain secluded super ski resort town in the beautiful state of Colorado. In addition, the story itself portrays harmoniously with the real life vision of a young adventurous individual who has made exactly the same decisions that Gross' and Berg's characters had made. Surely there could be equivocal view points to the writer's main intent, however, anyone who has followed, skied or rode the same tracks as Gross' and Berg's characters instantly familiarizes with the care that is taken by the writer in exploiting the liberating experience of leaving home to enter into a world of majestic beauty mixed with a sport that people with a similar passion and drive share interest in. The story as well as the visual effects consistently draw back on the natural grandeur and beauty of the Rockies as well as the emotional evolution that takes place with each changing season while living in such a town that many consider to be a life influencing period in time.

If you're a skier or a fan of the mountain, then this old school ski movie is a classic you don't wanna miss. Hardly a blockbuster but a great watch, the film is very much the skiing lifestyle of two young guys who chase their passion of skiing. It's got a good skiing scenes and an enjoyable storyline. It's about the ski instructor playboy, T.J. Burke and his uglier but but funny best friend, Dexter Rutecki. They ski in the rich and prestigious Aspen, beginning as ski bums before certain events see the movie develop a more concrete storyline. In short, this film will not be to everyone's taste but if you ski and enjoy the mountain life, watch it, you won't be disappointed!

This was a great movie. I've always thought it was. Like a lot of people have mentioned it's a great skier's movie. I'll watch it a couple of times over the summer along with all of the other ski movies that I either have, i.e. Hot Dog, Warren Miller, etc... It makes one want to get up and change jobs and lifestyle and keeps my powder fever under control until winter arrives again.

I don't agree with some users comments on the soundtrack though. I think the songs on the soundtrack fit the movie very well. In fact I wish the soundtrack was available because I like the songs in this movie, especially, 'Start the Car' by Jude Cole, 'The Driver' by Terry Reid, and 'Best inside you' by David Baerwald.

It is a sad movie with a similar plot as Top Gun in some respects, but I think the strong friendship of TJ and Dexter separates this movie from the testosterone driven Top Gun(which I think is also a great movie). Not to mention this is one of the few ski movies of the 80s/90s that was not a comedy.