The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream

It’s hard to suggest that a romance about pairs figure skating is anything other than a fairy tale, seeing that the sport itself isn’t exactly synonymous with virile heterosexual men wanting desperately to get under the tutus of their foxy, sit-spinning female counterparts. However, Moira Kelly and D.B Sweeney made it so back in 1992 with their kooky toepick shenanigans. The made for television romance The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream aims to recapture the magic and chemistry of The Cutting Edge, to such an extent that the final 15 minutes are a shot-by-shot re-enactment of the original, which is understandable, as Paul Michael "Starsky” Glaser’s direction is so inspirational. The film follows Zach Conroy (Matt Lanter) as he searches desperately for a new pairs figure skating partner. Enter Alexandra Delgado (Francia Raisa), a feisty hockey playing Latina without figure skating experience who charms Zach with her ability to twirl. Requisite training montages and playful flirtations abound until the stunningly predictable denouement. Television vet Stuart Gillard (Charmed, Road to Avonlea) directs the film with competence, if nothing else. Care is taken to examine the supple young flesh of the camera-friendly leads, more so than with any visual trajectories or pesky subtext. Each scene is glossy and over-lit, not unlike most soap operas, and the soundtrack feels more mandatory than fitting. The acting of the leads is uniformly wooden, save Francia Raisa, who actually has quite a bit of screen presence but could benefit from some intense acting lessons. The secondary performances are occasionally amusing, mainly one from an endowed female Russian Figure skater with some atrociously dubbed dialogue (think Zsa-Zsa Gabor on Quaaludes). This movie is unsurprisingly bad but follows the prescribed formula well enough to amuse the cat lady demographic it aims for. The DVD comes equipped with three minutes of deleted scenes and a "making of” featurette, which doesn’t add a lot to the film but may appeal to viewers interested in actor interviews.