Toepick!

Movie: The Cutting Edge, directed by Paul Michael Glaser
Recommendation: B-Dawg
Reason: "It's just a good romantic comedy."

Confession time: Until my cousin handed me this DVD and confided that it was one of her favorite movies ever, I had never heard of The Cutting Edge. Based on the reaction that revelation has gotten from some of my other friends and associates, I should apparently be considering revoking my Canadian citizenship, or at least my claim to be a Canadian girl. This was evidently a staple film of YTV and Fox Rochester while I was growing up. I can honestly say this is the first movie I've been handed that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, and just as honestly I can thank B-Dawg for the recommendation.

I'm not a romantic comedy buff. As I mentioned in my review of Love Me If You Dare, I like my rom-coms quirky and weird, as well as more than a little twisted. The sort of straight-up saccharine that The Cutting Edge and its ilk are made of usually repels me. The sheer chemistry of this movie is what made it work. Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney are certainly capable actors, and they put on a decent show when they're not sharing a scene, but the easy build of romance and chemistry was the true shining moment of this piece.

The story was stable, but simple enough-ice princess backstabs one partner after another (one actually gets a literal backstab, though it's with a toepick), meets hockey player, they skate, fall in love, maybe win an Olympic medal. Bog standard opposites attract rom-com meets sports movie. It worked, though. The usual props go out to Terry O'Quinn for remaining one of the best TV actors working today (and I got an extra big chuckle out of Moira Kelly's late-in-the-film line "No one tells me what I can and can't do." LOST fans ahoy!). I'm glad I saw this movie. Totally aces.

-10/365 down, 355/365 to go