Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 28, 1992 TAG: 9203280084
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On one level, it's nothing more than a standard formula picture. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, etc., within a Winter Olympic setting. Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) is a hockey player until an eye injury forces him off the Olympic team. He still strives for a pro career that will take him away from the steel town where he lives.
At the same time, spoiled rich girl Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is working her way through a series of partners in her own sport, pairs figure skating. She finds something lacking in each of them, though her abrasive personality and sharp tongue are enough to drive away most people.
Her private coach Pamchenko (Roy Dotrice) brings Kate and Doug together, and though Kate's as rough on Doug as she is on the others, her father (Terry O'Quinn) is won over. Yes, you know everything else that's going to happen. Well, almost everything.
The main problem with the film is in the competitive skating. All the atmospheric lighting and tricky editing can't cover up the obvious differences between the real actors and the stunt skaters. Because of that, the big skating scenes are kept to a minimum and much of that action is described by announcers, not shown.
Both Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney are competent skaters. Sweeney, who's helping to promote the film, said he learned to skate for the role and became proficient enough to play on an amateur hockey team. But it would be impossible for any actor to fake world-class figure skating.
When the focus moves to the practice rink and the personal lives of the characters, the story is stronger.
Kate and Doug hold your attention. When they're on screen together, the friction between them sets off sparks. It wouldn't be fair to compare them to Tracy and Hepburn, but that's the kind of relationship writer Tony Gilroy is trying to recreate.
Director Paul M. Glaser tells the story with the same straightforward, workmanlike skills that made "The Running Man" such an enjoyable little B-movie. This material is more human, more intimate, but no less engaging.
Figure skating fans may not be able to get past the liberties the film takes with the sport and many older audiences will say that they've seen all this before. For everyone else, though, "The Cutting Edge" has the makings of a real sleeper.
"The Cutting Edge" 1/2 An MGM release playing at Salem Valley 8 (389-0444). Rated PG for strong language, subject matter. 101 min.
by CNB