A popular hockey player and an ice skater die on the same day. The soul of the skater goes to heaven but the hockey player is reborn in the body of the ice skater.A popular hockey player and an ice skater die on the same day. The soul of the skater goes to heaven but the hockey player is reborn in the body of the ice skater.A popular hockey player and an ice skater die on the same day. The soul of the skater goes to heaven but the hockey player is reborn in the body of the ice skater.
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The first half of the film concentrates on Matt's gender dysphoria as he tries to adapt to life as a girl, which is handled in a light hearted and, dare I say it, funny way. The second half of the film advances the plot as Matt/Sarah tries to make it as a figure skater.
This is mindless, made-for-tv viewing, but as I said at the start of this review, it's got a certain naive charm and a great feel-good factor that makes this a watchable film, although the fact that I was too far gone to change channel probably helped. Though I wanted to, I couldn't find it in myself to actually dislike this movie.
Even though it's spliced throughout with five minute no-dialogue-just-song montages to pad it out, the charm of this movie alone carries it through and above the drudgery of daytime TV. Watch this if you want to while away a bored hour and a half, it's a 'bad' film, but its not a bad film to watch.
This film is quite nice for a low budget film produced for a cable network. The lead actress was good in her role. Her performance was on a par with Ellen Barkin in Switch, as a friend of mine commented.
The pace of the story is good, and the fantasy elements are kept believable by the writing and acting skills. There were some performances that were simplistic, but mostly for secondary performances, not those of the lead characters. The parents did border on being parodies of dumb parents however in a few scenes.
Skating scenes were also believable.
The film may not be an Oscar winner, but it had heart and soul, and relied on more than cliches to tell the story. (Not that there were no cliches!) But it was a good, enjoyable film I would watch again.
It is surprising with all the modern interest in unconventional sexual themes that movies where the member of one sex experiences the life of another are so uncommon. I don't mean transvestite stories like TOOTSIE, but plots wherein a person undergoes a real change. This gives a film a real chance to explore sex roles, a theme ostensibly so important to modern consciousness. There have been some such films, but these have been shallow comedies going for simpleminded yucks, like "Dr. Jeckyll and Ms Hyde" and "Switch" that really have nothing to say about the being a better humanbeing. Wouldn't it be better to address ideas of courage, compassion, and resilience in the face of difficulty? I thought Sarah's story of coming to grips with a new kind of life, of making peace with the past and moving on to the future, of friendship and striving to excel, made the story as warm as it was funny.
In criticism, it was too bad that the film didn't deal more with Sarah's social adjustments and less with skate training. Time to do so could have been salvaged from, for instance, that street hockey scene that was pretty much a throwaway. I think Ms Tom was a little too mature for the way the role was written and an actress who looked the age of Tara Lipinski would have been more suitable. Nonetheless, Tom does a good job and it is a shame that she doesn't get the chance to do more movie work (It is also a shame that her NANNY role was so restricted, and she was never allowed to break out of the background, as Nikki Cox did in UNHAPPY EVER AFTER).
Like "Heaven Can Wait," "Ice Angel" is clearly inspired by the classic "Here Comes Mr. Jordan." I hold it is superior to the former movie in thought and content, though shot on a small budget.
I'm amused by Nancy Kerrigan fans (which I count myself one)who express the wish for more screen time for our star. The few lines she had in the movie showed her limitations in delivering a dramatic line. She is a wonderful skater, but not an actress. Tara Lipinski did much better as the second lead.
Did you know
- TriviaGuest stars Tara Lipinski, Nancy Kerrigan, Rosalynn Sumners and Peter Carruthers were all championship-winning figure skaters.
- Quotes
Sarah Bryan: First, you wrongly end my life and then you dump me into the body of some chick figure skater? What are you thinking?
Allan: I'm sorry, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances. I mean, you insisted on winning a gold medal out on the ice.
Sarah Bryan: No, no, no. A gold medal in hockey. Hockey! That's with pucks and sticks. Not disco music and stupid frou-frou outfits.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Escape from Vault Disney: BONUS MINISODE! What Else Is NOT on Disney+? (2023)
- SoundtracksSteal my sunshine
Performed by Len
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- On Thin Ice: Going for the Gold
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- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
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