If you liked The Cutting Edge but couldn't tolerate the sequel, you might like this third try for the gold.
All that said, what makes "The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream" better than the first sequel are the performers. Lanter and Raisa have a nice chemistry, and make no mistake about it, this is an eye-candy movie. Guys will zero in on the charismatic Raisa, while women will lust after Lander. There are plenty of shots that linger over each of their bodies in training to give you all that opportunity. But it's still kid-friendly. A PG-13 rating for "some sexual references" actually comes pretty early in the film. After that, it's all in the mind of the beholder. In fact, "Chasing the Dream" aired earlier this month on ABC-Family, so now "The Cutting Edge" has gone the theatrical route, direct-to-video, and made-for-TV movie. I don't know what's left except to bitstream this baby directly onto the computers of families with children hoping to make it in the skating (and romance) world.
We learn on one of the extras that like her character, Francia's mom had a restaurant across the street from a skating arena. But Francia also took skating lessons, which meant that the four-week training course for the two stars was a refresher course. Though the skating scenes are often darkened and shot with quick cuts, "Chasing the Dream" features some believable skating sequences--accomplished, we learn, primarily with stunt doubles. And director Stuart Gillard ("Charmed," "Twitches") knows enough to zero in on his good-looking stars every bit as much as the skating sequences. This is what people who watch films like this want to see, and this is what he gives them. That's why this third installment is superior to the second. But that's about all it's superior to.
Video:
Though this one was made for TV, "Chasing the Dream" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, which stretches to fit the whole 16x9 monitor. The colors are vibrant, even in darkened performance-lit segments, and the picture is really pretty sharp and full of detail for a crank-it-out film.
Audio:
The audio is also a nice surprise, with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround churning out some nice music during performances, and delivering dialogue that's clear and sharp and full-toned.
Extras:
Bonus features are predictably scant. There's a nice "making of" featurette that shows the principles talking on-camera and also some behind-the-scenes footage, and then there's three minutes of deleted scenes. Not the greatest bunch of bonus features, but not the worst, either.
Bottom Line:
If you liked "The Cutting Edge" but couldn't tolerate the sequel, you might like this third try for the gold. The two stars are good to look at, and there's enough skating to appeal to would-be Olympians. But this is melodrama and romance, with a formula for "winning" that's so obvious that it doesn't take a coach to lay it all out for you.
We learn on one of the extras that like her character, Francia's mom had a restaurant across the street from a skating arena. But Francia also took skating lessons, which meant that the four-week training course for the two stars was a refresher course. Though the skating scenes are often darkened and shot with quick cuts, "Chasing the Dream" features some believable skating sequences--accomplished, we learn, primarily with stunt doubles. And director Stuart Gillard ("Charmed," "Twitches") knows enough to zero in on his good-looking stars every bit as much as the skating sequences. This is what people who watch films like this want to see, and this is what he gives them. That's why this third installment is superior to the second. But that's about all it's superior to.
Video:
Though this one was made for TV, "Chasing the Dream" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, which stretches to fit the whole 16x9 monitor. The colors are vibrant, even in darkened performance-lit segments, and the picture is really pretty sharp and full of detail for a crank-it-out film.
Audio:
The audio is also a nice surprise, with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround churning out some nice music during performances, and delivering dialogue that's clear and sharp and full-toned.
Extras:
Bonus features are predictably scant. There's a nice "making of" featurette that shows the principles talking on-camera and also some behind-the-scenes footage, and then there's three minutes of deleted scenes. Not the greatest bunch of bonus features, but not the worst, either.
Bottom Line:
If you liked "The Cutting Edge" but couldn't tolerate the sequel, you might like this third try for the gold. The two stars are good to look at, and there's enough skating to appeal to would-be Olympians. But this is melodrama and romance, with a formula for "winning" that's so obvious that it doesn't take a coach to lay it all out for you.
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