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- LOVE ON ICE (4.5 stars)
In which a mother's red daisy is all the trophy a girl needs.
Emily James is one of those who makes your life better for her being in it. And the crazy thing is she could've been this entitled, self-absorbed person who never uplifts a body. Emily (Julie Berman) used to be big noise in the figure skating world. She once was on the short list for the Olympics. But then, eight years ago, she abruptly hung it up, put her promising career on ice. And no one really knows why. She's kept mum.
She's twenty-seven years old now. She'd since moved back to her hometown of Lakeville, Michigan. Nowadays, Emily busses tables at the diner owned by her mom's best friend, Hildy (Linda Kash). On the side, she teaches puppy skating - that is, she teaches kids to skate. Most mornings, she wakes at the crack of dawn just to squeeze in some personal skating time at the local community center with the attached ice rink. She's such a fixture that old Dave (Neil Crone), who operates the skate shop and who's sharpened Emily's skates all her life, had given her the keys to the building.
Some plot spoilers.
What kicks off the plot proper is the arrival of Spencer Patterson (Andrew W. Walker). He's the young new coach for figure skating teen phenom Nikki Lee (Ana Golja). He's come just in time to prep her for the Midwest Regionals next month. That is, if only Nikki's mom Mia (Gail O'Grady) would deign to just sit back and let Spencer train her kid up. She doesn't. She's got notes. Oboy, does she got notes. And texts. Doesn't take too long for Spencer to figure out he's gonna need help dealing with the tiger mom.
Being a figure skating buff, as well as an ex-competitor himself, Spencer used to avidly watch Emily James compete years ago. Imagine his gobsmack when he sets eyes on her in this little town. And since Emily lights up whatever room she's in, and she's friendly, and, plus, she waited on him in that diner, he's able to strike up a conversation with her. At some point, he asks for her help in training young Nikki. Emily eventually caves, given that she's aware of Nikki's potential, plus, the kid used to be a student of Emily's in her skating class. They're homies.
Here comes the big twist - and remember, I did say plot spoilers - Nikki's mom reluctantly agrees to having Emily around, providing she doesn't become a distraction. Emily, of course, is wonderful. Under her and Spencer's ministrations, Nikki blossoms even further.
But Spencer can't help but notice this about Emily: even though it's been eight years since she skated competitively, the passion's still there burning bright. And the skills are still there. And Spencer latches onto a crazy notion. He goes up to Emily and offers to coach her up, too. He thinks she should also compete for the Midwest Regionals, now in less than a month. And Emily James, whose tragic past kept her from realizing her full potential, well, she lets herself get talked into it.
And how will the micro-managing tiger mom react to this? To Spencer's simultaneously training Nikki and Emily to compete in the same tournament? Is there a meme for an exploding head?
LOVE ON ICE aired on Hallmark very early in 2017, a month and some change after UPtv's own figure skating rom-com, A SNOW-CAPPED CHRISTMAS a.k.a. FALLING FOR CHRISTMAS. And I love both movies, but maybe I love LOVE ON ICE just a smidge more. Two things make me lean this way. One is the very captivating Julie Berman, and how there's just something about her smile and how she makes her character so rootable. The other thing is the skating is better in this movie. There are actually triple jumps being executed, as opposed to A SNOW-CAPPED CHRISTMAS when the play-by-play announcer described a triple axel when it was clearly a double. Now, where A SNOW-CAPPED CHRISTMAS has it over on LOVE ON ICE is the romantic relationship. I think Leah Renee and Niall Matter generate more of a spark than do Julie Berman and Andy Walker, but I think that's more to do with how the screenplay plays out. Plus, Renee and Matter flaunted the secret weapon of having an adorable little girl in their movie. Hard to beat that.
It's a good watch for when you're hankering for a squeaky-clean wholesome story - the thing that Hallmark specializes in - with elements of the sports underdog tossed in. It's the sort of sappy tale where some elder person dispenses folksy advice, like "Look into your heart." I dunno that the plot required someone as hissable as that conniving coach (Kate Drummond). She was essentially a cartoon villain. As it were, one could've squeezed dramatic conflict out of Emily James's being a celebrity in the sports world. The thing that happens to alienate Emily from Spencer just seems like so much bs.
Yep, there are some unresolved plotlines, the biggest being did Hildy the diner lady accept old Dave the ice rink guy's marriage proposal? And I'm assuming Em's advertising best friend, Cate (Laura Miyata), managed to snag the SunStyle juice account after all, but, at best, it's only implied. Some nitpicks now. I did think it was unprofessional of Spencer to take on another pupil, with both pupils going up in direct competition against each other. I wasn't feeling the song Emily picks out for her free skate; too poppy, too generic, too blah. And I'm still low-key hating on body doubles that come in to execute the more challenging skating moves. I get it. I'd rather actors who can act than athletes who can skate but can't deliver a line. It's like an actor pretending to be a guitar player or piano player, except you only ever see hand doubles doing the finger work. It takes me out of the story. Other than that, I enjoyed this sucker. 4.5 out of 5 stars, even with the nitpicks and unresolved stuff.
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- FROZEN IN LOVE (4 stars)
This one's about a brainy book lover and a two-fisted hockey player - oh, no, this could never work.
Probably plot spoilers.
Oboy, public relations exec Janet Dunleavy is having a banner bunch of weeks, and by "banner," I mean lousy. First, her old college friend, Mary Campbell (Rachael Leigh Cook), hits her up for advice on how best to boost visibility for her struggling bookstore, On the Same Page. Then, Janet (Sandy Sidhu) is approached by one of her clients, the Denver Royals hockey team. The Royals's president has mandated one of the players to meet with Janet. That hombre happens to be bad boy hockey pro Adam Clayborn (Niall Matter). Adam's just been suspended for ten games for getting tossed from the game for the third time this season. The hope is that Janet can rehabilitate his image.
Janet is nothing if not efficient. What else do you call someone who kills two birds with one stone? Janet's inspiration is to pair Adam up with a respectable figure in the community, someone who could counter his bad rep. Adam and this person - oh, c'mon, we know it'll be Mary - will then dive into local activities, maybe some volunteer work, and, of course, there's to be a heap of photo ops.
Janet has to do some nifty fast talking because Mary and Adam are giving each other the hairy side-eye. Janet whispers in Mary's ear that she's got what it takes to take an uncouth ruffian and convert him into a cultured book reader. Janet assures Adam he could be the hero who saves a beloved fixture in the community. Janet, PR whisperer. This movie's not about her.
Mary is uptight. Adam lives in the moment. Mary yearns to travel but has been all her life stuck in Denver. She helped her parents mind the store and took it over when they retired. On the Same Page - cool name for a bookstore - has been around nearly forty years. Mary's smart younger brother, Tyler (a very good Madison Smith), is trying his durndest to usher the bookstore into the modern age, except Mary prefers to keep with tradition. Besides, she says, they already have an online presence, what with the website and the Facebook account. Tyler insists those aren't exactly cutting edge and not enough. Mary, though, she simply ain't one for change.
Still, she reluctantly gives in to Janet's plan. Adam isn't down with the plan, either. But he's already been kicked out of teams from Texas, Seattle, and New Jersey. He needs to shore up goodwill but fast. Polls indicate telemarketers are more liked than him (yikes!).
FROZEN IN LOVE is the second movie in Hallmark's Winterfest showcase of movies that premiered in January 2018. If you're a fan of SHE'S ALL THAT or of EUREKA - and I'm a fan of both - then this movie is the next best thing to Reese's Pieces in terms of combined goodness. No, FROZEN IN LOVE isn't nearly as good as SHE'S ALL THAT or EUREKA, but it's neat to see Rachael Leigh Cook and Niall Matter anywhere. See their characters go thru the rom-com pattern of detesting each other, warming up to each other, falling for each other - and, for most of it, they're in full-on argy-bargy. Their nonstop bickering is actually the highlight of the movie for me.
What are some of the things the squabbling duo get up to, you ask? Well, courtesy of Janet's PR brain, the bookstore sponsors a junior hockey team that Adam will coach, and this paves the way for some of the most contentious disputes between Mary and Adam but, also, for some amusing moments as Mary tries to impart her more civilized philosophy on a bunch of hockey kids. There's the box sled race that honestly looks like hella-fun and presents us with the optics of the uptight Mary fully embracing the moment. I also liked the podcasted book chats that Adam participated in, particularly when the discussion swung over to H.G. Wells' WAR OF THE WORLDS. Mary and Adam's squabble over the book's themes had me rolling. Yeah, Janet Dunleavy, PR jedi, doesn't snag near enough credit.
Hallmark's 2018 Winterfest run:
- LOVE ON THE SLOPES
- FROZEN IN LOVE
- ONE WINTER WEEKEND
- WINTER'S DREAM
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From the manufacturer
Starring Julie Berman & Andrew Walker
Former figure skating champion, Emily James, now 27 years old and considered a relic in the world of figure skating, gets an improbable shot to reclaim skating glory when a young coach sees greatness in her.
Starring Rachael Leigh Cook & Niall Matter
When struggling bookstore owner Mary (Rachael Leigh Cook) and the bad boy of professional hockey, Adam (Niall Matter), are teamed together to help facilitate an image makeover for the other, they soon realize that opposites attract and they find themselves unexpectedly frozen in love.
