James Hitchcock
For some reason this film appears to have two different titles. It was shown on British television by the rather clumsy title "On Thin Ice- Going for Gold", but I will refer to it by its simpler alternative title "Ice Angel". It is essentially a remake, with a twist, of "Here Comes Mr Jordan" from 1941 and "Heaven Can Wait" from 1978. Both those films were about a sportsman named Joe Pendleton (a boxer in the first film, a gridiron footballer in the second) who dies prematurely because of an error by an inexperienced guardian angel and then has to return to Earth in a new body because his own has been cremated.The main male character in "Ice Angel" is also an American sportsman, in this case Matt Clark, the captain of the USA ice hockey team, who dies prematurely during a match because of an error by an inexperienced guardian angel and then has to return to Earth in a new body. And here comes the twist. In both "Here Comes Mr Jordan" and "Heaven Can Wait", Pendleton was reincarnated as a businessman named Farnsworth. Matt, however, is reincarnated in a female body, that of figure skating champion Sarah Bryan, no suitable male bodies being available. He is sternly forbidden to reveal his true identity to anyone or to contact anyone he knew in his previous existence, including his girlfriend and his best friend. As Sarah, Matt faces two great challenges- to adapt to life as a woman and to learn the techniques of figure skating in time to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games.Unlike some sports, figure skating has not inspired many films, and certainly no great ones. It was, however, popular in the 1990s, especially after all the interest created by the Battle of Wounded Knee (aka the Waterskate Affair) between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding in 1994. Nancy actually has a small part in this movie and another famous skater, Tara Lipinski, a more important one. Tara plays Sarah's great rival Tracy Hannibal. (She significantly has the same initials as Harding; doubtless the scriptwriter toyed with the idea of giving Matt's female alter ego a name like Nina Kelly or Nicola Knight but rejected it as too obvious). Of course, this being a sentimental comedy there has to be a happy ending, so Sarah and Tracy end up the best of friends. On this showing Tara will never win an Oscar to put on her mantelpiece alongside her Olympic gold, but in all honesty her acting is no worse than that of the professional actors who make up the rest of the cast, and in some cases rather better.Besides the films already mentioned, "Ice Angel" also owes a debt to cross-dressing comedies like "Tootsie" and "Mrs Doubtfire" which both involve a man learning how to act like a woman, with the difference that Matt now really is a woman, not just pretending to be one. There is, unfortunately, another difference. "Tootsie" and "Mrs Doubtfire" are classics, two of the funniest comedies of all time. "Ice Angel" is one of those films which could have been much funnier than it ends up.There is nothing wrong with the basic concept. Apart from the fact that both take place on ice, ice hockey and figure skating have little in common. Ice hockey is a sport with an aggressively macho ethos, whereas skating is perhaps the most feminised of all sports, with even male participants wearing sparkly, glittery costumes. Female competitors are expected to maintain an image of ultra-femininity both on and off the ice; even before the Kerrigan affair Harding was frequently criticised because the strange contrast between her sexy, glamorous appearance on the ice and her off-ice image of a redneck ladette whose main pleasures were drinking beer, playing pool and hunting.The idea, therefore, was to have the ultra-masculine Matt gradually learning how to be the ultra-feminine Sarah, but it just doesn't work. The film goes through all the standard clichés about tough guys and girlie girls, as Sarah's over-protective parents, who seem like something from a fifties sit-com, worry about why their daughter is now behaving like a tomboy and her coach wonders why she has suddenly lost her ability to perform triple axels. It never, however, manages to extract any humour from them, concentrating more on its sentimental sub-plot about Matt's girlfriend. One thing the film tactfully skates over (pun intended) is the question of the resurrected Matt/Sarah's sexual orientation; great fun could have been had with this aspect, but doubtless the film-makers felt that it was more important not to alienate the family market. One reviewer calls "Ice Angel" "a bit of a turkey". Make that a turkey reincarnated in the body of an ostrich. 4/10
the_doctor
Ever heard the critics' expression, "trying to give this movie a bad review is like trying to kick a puppy?" Well, it's most certainly true here. Make no mistakes, this is a bad film - the plot goes far beyond the realms of the improbable whilst somehow fitting in every cliché going as hockey star Matt is killed and reincarnated as a female ice skater.The first half of the film concentrates on Matt's gender dysphoria as he tries to adapt to life as a girl, which is handled in a light hearted and, dare I say it, funny way. The second half of the film advances the plot as Matt/Sarah tries to make it as a figure skater.This is mindless, made-for-tv viewing, but as I said at the start of this review, it's got a certain naive charm and a great feel-good factor that makes this a watchable film, although the fact that I was too far gone to change channel probably helped. Though I wanted to, I couldn't find it in myself to actually dislike this movie.Even though it's spliced throughout with five minute no-dialogue-just-song montages to pad it out, the charm of this movie alone carries it through and above the drudgery of daytime TV. Watch this if you want to while away a bored hour and a half, it's a 'bad' film, but its not a bad film to watch.
smaniaci
I have seen this movie several times. However, I agree that Nancy Kerrigan should have been featured more, though she had more than a bit part.Tara Lipinski seemed to be more famous, in that she was featured more. Tracy was her role. Tara delivered it quite well. I enjoyed this fantasy film because after the hockey player "died," it returned to become a woman. Does that ever happen in real life? I am not sure. Sometimes we all wish it did.Nicholle Tom played her part of Sarah, excellently. All in all, it was very entertaining and worthwhile to see.
mcdonb
This movie was great! I've read other comments that state the movie was bad because it was Canadian, But frankly, I don't Believe that that has anything to do with the movie. I am glad to see a movie made for and about ice skating that wasn't a compation because most are, and they take place only on the ice. I am glad that this one didn't!
