This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Action, Drama, Y. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Peter Markle
Starring: Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Ed Lauter, Cynthia Gibb, Jim Youngs, Eric Nesterenko, George Finn
I like hockey. I like hockey far more than most of the power brokers in Hollywood, judging by the number and quality of hockey movies that are made. Peter Markle directed, and co-wrote, this hockey movie and it is the most realistic movie about the sport to ever come out of the Hollywood machine. The hockey scenes are flawed in spots, but less so than most other efforts and the writing about the actions and relationships on a Major Junior hockey team are dead on. The characters are largely stereotypes and the story is pure sports formula right down to the requisite eighties training montage, but there is still enough charm and action to make it interesting.
Rob Lowe is Dean Youngblood, an American farm boy with a dream to make it to the NHL, and unlike, his brother (Jim Youngs) who has already tried and failed, Dean may just have the speed and talent to make it. To this end, he crosses the border to try out for a Canadian Major Junior team, where they decide to take him, despite his lack of toughness, so prized in the hockey world. He soon shows his talent and is befriended by Derek Sutton (Patrick Swayze), the team’s best player, finds himself smitten by the coach’s daughter and struggles to find the toughness he will need to survive in the rough and tumble hockey world.
Imagine Slapshot with young male heartthrobs instead of broken down old stars and with a dramatic plot instead of overblown comedy and you will have some idea of what to expect here. Look for retired, long-time NHL pro, Eric Nesterenko in a small role as Dean’s dad. Hockey fans and fans of sports movies, in general, will find this old, forgotten film to be worth hunting down.
