On Edge

On the surface, "On Edge" looks like a crazy mockumentary along the lines of the Christopher Guest masterpieces "Best in Show" (dog competition), "A Mighty Wind" (folk festival), or the one that started them all, "Spinal Tap" (dimensionally challenged heavy metal rockers). Certainly this merciless skewering of competitive figure skating has all the makings of an absurdist satire like those, but what distinguishes it--and possibly throws off audiences who are expecting just a silly romp--are some surprisingly powerful themes and dramatic subplots. And I'm not just talking about "fat girl shaming" which is actually just 1 element of the story.

For example there's one character, the bad girl "JC Cain" (excellently played by AJ Langer) who is introduced with the morbidly hilarious backstory of her father being accidentally canned to death in a tuna factory. (Look out, exploding drummers and bizarre gardening accidents, you've met your match.) Her character has all the makings of a total Tonya Harding caricature, but as the film progresses her story shifts to a very dramatic subplot of a person torn by imaginary loyalties, self-defeating dreams of mediocrity, and strangely disturbing voices in her head. And all of this is played straight, no satire, no ba-dum-ching punchlines and no amps that go to 11. If you're not ready for it, you may end up confused.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The plot of "On Edge" revolves around a dysfunctional figure skating school run by a crazy alcoholic Russian ex-champion with the worst accent since Keanu Reeves doing Shakespeare, but (like Keanu Reeves doing Shakespeare) you gotta love him. We focus on the stories of a handful of skaters who are each vying for the title of regional champion, and orbiting around them are a few hilarious trainers, family members, judges, and our strategically placed storyteller "Zamboni Phil" (played by Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame in a very non-Seinfeld role). Zamboni is the voice of reason in this crazy spectacle, and he's what bridges the gap between absurdist satire and the dramatic elements I mentioned. He's a bit like the Shakespearean fool who seems like a clown on the surface but is ultimately the wisest of the bunch.

Among the characters we meet are: (1) a sullen, perfection-obsessed diva with an eating disorder and a mother who bakes pies for everyone but her; (2) a somewhat larger-than-average yet phenomenally talented girl "Wendy" who, despite all the abuse she receives, has an unstoppably cheerful personality like Dorothy Hamill on crack; and (3) the aforementioned bad girl JC who defies description as her character arc has more spins than a Triple Salchow.

Peripheral characters provide the biggest laughs and certainly the most weirdness, like the disturbingly intense ex-judge whom you feel at any minute might jump off a rooftop trying to fly ("This is not a mind on drugs! This is a mind on figure skating!!"), or the 2 crazed Beavis & Butthead fanboys, as well as a host of other screwballs including notable cameos by Kathy Griffin and (you gotta be quick to catch it...) yes, one of the band members of Spinal Tap.

"On Edge" definitely has a lot going on, and in order to fully appreciate this flick you have to be prepared for the dramatic elements as well as the utter madcap absurdity. But now that you're forewarned maybe you'll have a great time. A final note about the actual figure skating performances: WOW. Those alone are worth the price of admission. I wasn't particularly a fan of figure skating before watching this movie, but I am now. Tuna sandwiches, not so much.

I like mockumentaries and thought this one had potential as the ice skating world is ripe for picking, but it was not to be. "On Edge" must've looked good on paper as there are lots of good set-ups for comedic moments but the execution is awful. The best films in this type of film (Think "Best in Show" or "Incident at Loch Ness" for two wildly different but highly effective mockumentaries) seem to know that the comedy works best when the on screen characters don't "try" to be funny. "On Edge" features so much self conscious mugging for the camera that I'd bet it was fun to be on the set at the time of filming but for those of us in the audience it's very hard to sit through. It's sort of like visiting family and having the children constantly tug at your sleeve to watch them perform their ballet twirling or magic acts. That works fine on a family level but not on a feature film level. It's really a shame too because the movie has a charming blueprint. It focuses on a number of young ice skaters prepping for the regional competition. There's the fat girl, the twins, the klutz, the biker chick, and the one for whom ice skating isn't her real dream but her stage mother won't let her stop skating because she's a natural. Jason Alexander is sort of an everyman, playing Zamboni Phil, and commenting sagely on the different girls and their managers. He must've really needed a paycheck to appear in this turkey. I'd like to see this movie remade by Christopher Guest and company. They could do it proud.

ON EDGE is the WAITING FOR GUFFMAN for the figure skating world.

Hard to say who is funnier, Jason Alexander as the Zamboni driver at a two-bit SoCal skating rink, or Scott Hamilton in disguise as an insane amateur skating judge. Both serve as commentators who guide a documentarist/professor (played by up-and-coming comic Chris Hogan), as he tails three hopefuls vying for the regional figure skating championship.

Seen at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen last week, this film played to a full house. Everyone laughed at the funny bits -- and a couple of women seated near me actually cried at the heart-stopper of a false ending.

Excellent performances combined with strong storytelling all point to primo directing by Karl Slovin, who covers skating from a couple of striking new angles (literally, some gorgeous birds' eye view photography). There's good broad comedy from John Glover as the crazy Russian rink owner and Wally Langham of HBO's Larry Sanders Show fame playing a coach -- but the standouts here are the utterly convincing AJ Langer, a Tanya Harding worth rooting for, and Barret Swatek, the cold beauty.

The story, which at first blush seems quite familiar, sneaks up on you and defies pat answers because the characters show unexpected depth. At first I was surprised by some of the plot points -- but on second thought they not only made perfect sense, but they conveyed an actual moral. While none of the characters is a saint, about the time you get to your car you realize that the gal who wins is the only one who fights fair.

Music and Editing keep ON EDGE on pace -- none of the usual snail-slow indy bog, unlike more celebrated films at this festival.

Worth seeing.

Okay this is a spoof about documentary style movies about figure skating in Southern California. It's not supposed to be great but it has a great cast. I love Wendie Malick as the single mother obsessed with her daughter, Veda, who has a secret passion for cooking and would rather be in the kitchen than a skater. She has a Tonya Harding type J.C. Cain who would love to be the queen of the ice Capades and shows. She comes from a trailer park community. The third contestant is played by Marisa Janet Winokur (she won a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Hairspray). She plays Wendy, a girl from a wholesome supportive family and coached by her mother. She finally gets her dream coach after his client is eliminated. You see a lot of familiar faces like Jason Alexander as Zamboni Phil, Chris Hogan as the Professor, Kathy Griffin as Kathy Katz among others. I don't take this film seriously. Oh Scott Hamilton, Peter Carruthers, Kristi Yamaguchi show that they can poke fun at their sport.

I had high hopes for this film because of its stellar cast – Jason Alexander, Marissa Winkour, Kathy Griffin, A.J. Langer, and Wendie Mallick all have such strong comedy chops, I figured any movie with these actors HAD to be good. Right? Alas, this was so bad it was unwatchable.

There have been many references to Christopher Guest's mockumentaries in these comments, and I agree that this movie is a long, long way from being in the same league as Guest's. The main difference is that Guest's films genuinely love and respect their subject matters, even while deprecating them. The writers of this film apparently hate figure skaters, and as a result, the "jokes" are offensive, mean-spirited, and sexist, as opposed to being light, good-natured fun. Nearly EVERY scene contains a fat joke at Winkour's expense. The Veda character is stalked and nearly raped in a parking lot by two idiot male groupies, and this is passed off as hilarity. Bulimia and drug use are also given the comedy treatment, and every unfunny, poorly-written gag is repeated several times.

What a waste of talent! The three lead characters (Winkour, Swatek, and Langer) cannot do anything with the material. Kathy Griffin's role was far too short. Jason Alexander seems embarrassed to be in the movie, as if he signed on and then couldn't take it back. The narrator is square, boring, lacks timing, and adds nothing to the mockumentary nature of the story.

Worst of all, the movie is tragically low-budget, and nowhere is this more evidence than in the film's music. Whoever wrote the music was about 20 years behind the times, apparently scoring every scene with AWFUL 80s keyboard pop. Obviously, I can't fault a movie for not having lots of money thrown at it, but the filmmakers didn't even TRY to make this film sound professional. One character is obsessed with Madonna, yet the music she is listening to clearly is NOT Madonna's – it is a very cheap, and not at all realistic, imitation of "Get into the Groove." Similarly, another skater later ostensibly skates to the Titanic theme music, yet the "music" is clearly a bad imitation of the Titanic score, not the real thing. The filmmakers insult the audience's intelligence with this tripe, and make this movie feel like a cheap 80s film instead of one made in 2001.

I am only giving this film 4 stars because of the cast. The writing deserves 0 stars.