'Aspen Extreme' should satisfy some lazy Saturday afternoon fun, if you're in the mood for a decent early 90s action/drama. This movie centers on two guys from Detroit who travel to Aspen to work as ski instructors in a posh resort. Paul Gross is the rather handsome, somewhat shy T.J. Burke, the star skier of our story. His friend is Dexter Rutecki (Peter Berg), a sort of cocky guy and second string skier. The friends kind of clash and things don't exactly go as planned. In the first place, Dexter only gets in on probationary terms because his ski trials don't go well while T.J. is picked for the better ski instructor job almost immediately. Then, T.J. starts spending a lot of time with a wealthy woman (Finola Hughes) while Dexter starts getting into dangerous pursuits, dealing drugs. This consequently upsets the guys plans to ski as a team in a severe downhill competition (a ski movie wouldn't be complete without the grand downhill finale). And when Dexter meets his downfall, T.J. wonders whether it is worth it to try for the competition, or whether he should just pack up and go back to Detroit. (Look for William MacNamara briefly in the end).
Despite some of the clichés of the story, this movie stands out among other ski movies of the day in particular because of the tremendous ski sequences, which are abundant (while some movies just use it as a secondary element). Anyone who enjoys skiing might enjoy this film for that aspect alone. It really makes you want to get off your tush, grab some snow gear, and hit the slopes. Plus, the movie has enough going on with its two different main characters (T.J. and Dexter) to keep you going. So you're not just stuck with the routine ski instructor finds love and skates in the downhill competition story. It is definitely worth trying out.
Despite some of the clichés of the story, this movie stands out among other ski movies of the day in particular because of the tremendous ski sequences, which are abundant (while some movies just use it as a secondary element). Anyone who enjoys skiing might enjoy this film for that aspect alone. It really makes you want to get off your tush, grab some snow gear, and hit the slopes. Plus, the movie has enough going on with its two different main characters (T.J. and Dexter) to keep you going. So you're not just stuck with the routine ski instructor finds love and skates in the downhill competition story. It is definitely worth trying out.