Un amour de patineuse

7.8 stars.

Right from jump street I could see this was not going to be the most spectacular film. I attribute that sentiment on my gut feeling it wasn't flowing smoothly at first. I credit this to some rough edits, lack of direction, maybe the cinematography was intermittently off. All that aside I appreciate both leads, they radiate energy and athleticism, which is crucial for a figure skater and coach to capture. The female lead is rarely seen in Hallmark films, and she has definite screen presence. The male lead is one of Hallmark's best, so no need to embellish his accolades.

This story contains a lot of competitive drama between skaters and a parent, news reporters, and coaches. The plot is about and up-and-coming young female phenom, and a comeback story for the female lead. The majority of the setting is shared between a diner and the rink.

This film is mostly about skating, and I am surprised how much skating footage is utilized. It was meticulously and realistically presented. I feel the focus of the director was to deliver skating footage to perfection.

I found "Love on Ice" to be quite entertaining in various parts, but a bit slow at times. As a whole it's a feel good film, and I shed a few tears. This was literally love on ice for me, partly for the romance, mainly for the love of the art and sport of figure skating.

If you enjoy movies that showcase skating, this is one of the best for Hallmark. Contrary to some other reviews, this movie is probably the best for pure skating action shots, but maybe not as much for character flow and chemistry, or dialogue. There is a definite authenticity to the female jock vibe, kudos for nailing that part.

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!

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.

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.

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.