The Cutting Edge (1992) User Reviews

Funny sports film/romantic comedy

[MichaelMovieLoft · 8/10 · 21 May 2003]

I like this movie. First off, you have underrated actors DB Sweeney and Moira Kelly showing their stuff. It is probably their best film they have made. The chemistry is great between the two. You can tell that when they fly insults at each other. The whole cast does a good job and the scenery is nice. I usually don't like films that use Canada as a backdrop for a US city, but in this case, It does a good job as a replacement for Minnesota and suburban New England.

My favorite scene is where they are ready to skate their first performance together. Doug goes backstage and lets out some of his bodily fluids. He goes back to explain to Kate that he always had two helmets and it usually took him 10 minutes to warm up for a game. Kate reminds him that their program is only 2 1/2 minutes. He stares blankly at her and says, "So eight minutes afterward, I'll be okay" LOL. I always think of that line when I am nervous and going into something major.

There are a few cameos by other skating personalities such as Robin Cousins (who also was the technical advisor) and Jo Jo Starbuck. There aren't many ice skating films out there and there are a few that are good. This is one of the few. TOEPICK!!!

Good chemistry for a solid rom-com

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 30 December 2013]

It's the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary. Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) is a promising hockey player, but his career is cut short by an eye injury. Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) is a spoiled temperamental pairs figure skater who goes through every partner. Then 2 years later, Moseley still can't find a partner, and Dorsey can't find a team. Her coach Anton Pamchenko decides to put them together despite their combative relationship.

They have good chemistry together. Their combative nature is the perfect heat for a relationship. It is a fundamental building block to a good rom-com. That's what we have here. Two perfectly match solid actors doing a good rom-com. Moira Kelly has the perfect indignant pout, and Sweeney has a great sly smirk.

A great story for all ages

[moviegal-6 · 8 January 2001]

I was twelve years old when I saw this film. Then, I thought it was great. Now, at twenty-one, I think it's awesome. Some may criticize the "inaccuracies" of the skating, but if one looks closely at the credits, world renowned skater Robin Cousins is the technical advisor and skating scene coordinator. Also, the pairs skaters they compete against are also, as far as I can tell, are real skaters. While they probably wouldn't jump into major competitions right away, they did it this way most likely for timesake. It's a sweet love story that is refreshingly free of violence (save the occasional slapshot), gratutious sex, and vulgar language. It is a delight for young and old combining chemestry, believability, and awesome skating sequences. I give it a nine and a half out of ten; if for nothing else, then for the warm fuzzies you get from watching it.

Surprisingly good for a formula movie

[imdb-21622 · 7/10 · 25 December 2009]

OK, so the plot is formulaic. There is nothing new here, really. Or is there? I have seen this movie a few times, and always liked it. I think it's the acting and dialog.

The acting is a cut above what you would expect from the movie. The female lead is a prima donna. I felt like her complex human emotions at times were fairly believable. Sometimes she's bitchy. Sometimes confused. Sometimes you like her.

The male lead is perhaps not quite as good. But they did not fall into the pattern of simply making him another dumb jock. In a scene where they have both had too much to drink, I felt he reacted in a very realistic way. He delivers this great line in the movie to her after she insists he button the top button of his costume. Something to the effect of 'if buttoning that button made the difference between a long happy life and a painful death, he would not give her the satisfaction.' It was a perfectly acted scene, IMO.

The dialog was much better than expected in this type of movie. There's some pretty funny lines. And some generally great exchanged between the actors that are far less dull than you would expect. If I put this into the category of sports movies, I would say it really rates well partly due to dialog.

OK, so you can predict the plot. Obviously, it's a formulaic movie. But along the way, they throw in a few curves, and the characters react in many ways like normal humans would in the same situation, at least in my opinion.

If you like the love/hate romance movies, and triumphant sporting movies, I think this is up your alley.

p.s. chick flicks are not my favored genre, so the fact I liked this movie, says something I think (because it's a bit of a chick flick at times.)

Saw this on MGM a month ago very good.

[lisafordeay · 7/10 · 3 August 2013]

I didn't catch the very beginning of it but I seen most of this movie. The story is about this guy played by DB Sweeney (who was in that 2000 animated film Dinosaur as the voice of that dinosaur in that movie)who's a former hockey player who had some sort of accident meaning he can't play Hockey anymore. So he decides to try something else which is(yup) Ice skating,where he meets and later falls for a girl played by Moira Kelly(who was in One Tree Hill and The Lion King). Problem is she's getting married so there's a will they won't they scenario going on.

Bottom line I found it really enjoyable and if its on TV again I won't miss out on the beginning of it.If you like Ice Skating movies then check it out.

5.9...5.8....5.9....6.0....5.7.....5.9.......

[ray-280 · 10/10 · 5 September 2005]

Take a handsome young ex-hockey star who could never do much other than skate, a prima-donna figure-skater who finds fault with every world-class partner thrown her way and laughs at said ex-hockey star, and an obligatory crazy-genius Soviet expatriate, send them all after Olympic glory, and you have The Cutting Edge.

Lead characters Doug Dorsey (D.B. Sweeney) and Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly) are star-crossed skaters: an eye injury at the Olympics ruined Doug's hockey career, while an ill-timed fall in the pairs figure skating finals leaves Kate's destiny unfulfilled. Coach Anton Pamchenko (Roy Dotrice) fishes Dorsey out of a construction site and transplants him to the Moseley estate in Greenwich. The fish-out-of-water concept was not as blatant as Pauly Shore's movies, but it was definitely there.

The stereotypical supporting cast did its job: Terry O'Quinn is the wealthy, doting father who is either obsessed with an Olympic medal for his daughter, or obsessed with his daughter who happens to want an Olympic medal (the movie never really makes clear which), while snobby fiancé Hale Forrest (Dwier Brown) is forgettable yet necessary to the plot, as is Walter Dorsey (Chris Benson), Doug's stereotypical nuts-and-bolts, slightly homophobic and very skeptical brother.

With Breakfast Club-like cost-efficiency, the film sticks to the dialogue between the few main characters, who are on screen for the large majority of the film. The questions are timeless: will Kate marry her snobby fiancé or will passion erupt from the love-hate relationship with her skating partner? Will they overcome the judging bias against ex-hockey players and win gold? Will Kate loosen up? Will Doug gain some culture and refinement? One could say that this film is predictable, but that is a good thing. Films like The Cutting Edge lose very little even if you've heard the story told a hundred times in a dozen ways. Suspense is not the goal here; romance is, and this film serves up more of it than almost every media-hyped "blockbuster" I've ever seen.

Enjoyable and beautiful to watch. Fun for whole family.

[kjff · 7/10 · 27 November 2003]

This is basicly a retelling of the Taming of the Shrew and Kiss Me Kate in a attractive figure-skating setting. A fun movie, pleasant to watch. Not deep but well done. The hero and heroine do a great job as young actors and have gone on to journeymen acting careers. One of my favorites.

Often Imitated, Never Duplicated, PERFECT love story..

[A_Different_Drummer · 10/10 · 12 January 2014]

I have lost count of the number of times I have seen this. It is extraordinary in every way, and that is IN SPITE OF the fact that it appears to have been done as a B-movie on a limited budget and with limited expectations. First the story. A bratty young girl raised by her domineering father to win a medal in skating. Nothing new there. But add to the mix the idea that she needs a last-minute partner because she has burned through all the ready talent, and the best candidate appears to be an ex-hockey skater who can no longer play .. and now it starts to get interesting. Then factor in some of the best on-screen chemistry in recent memory ... and presto, before you can say JACK ROBINSON, we are suddenly in the big leagues in spite of the small budget. One of the tightest scripts ever, with a double climax at the end. (To this day, every skating teacher and skating student will break out laughing when you say "toepick" with that certain special intonation.) Moira Kelly and D. B. Sweeny give the performances of their lives yet, ASTONISHINGLY, don't even seem to realize it. (They were young and probably thought that bigger and better parts were ahead of them -- but history will show that, unfortunately, did not happen). Succeeds on so many levels -- as a sports story, as story of personal redemption, and absolutely kills as a love story. More recently the Disney people, realizing that they had overlooked this gem, tried to monetize it with some belated sequels, but lightening seldom strikes twice. A one of a kind guilty pleasure, iconic, capable of being watched over and over, a film that never gets old, and never fails to capture the imagination or steal your heart. A perfect "10." ------------------------------------------------------------

Update Oct 14: The good news is that Disney has grudgingly acknowledged just how good this film is by creating a franchise. Of sorts. The bad news is that, while entry #2 and #3 are OK (but still a pale imitation of the original), #4 is barely watchable at all. Out of curiosity this writer found a copy of the original and re-watched. No, all those who gave this a perfect "10" were not crazy. On re-watching, the tightness of the script, with many clever double-entendres, shines; as does Kelly's ability to deliver some of the best reaction shots in the history of the medium. Chemistry to spare. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Cool Figure Skating Movie

[adiwsusanto · 7/10 · 15 January 2008]

I watch this movie when I was in my teen age on LD. I Loved this movie & I love Moira Kelly. She's so cute, attractive & pull out some act in this movie. It's a typical sport movie where they have to partner, work hard & win the competition in the end. The road to reach there, the struggle & the situation surrounding it is the one that makes it difference. It's a light hearted movie and I might be biased but ever since I watch this movie I wish I'll be able to skate. It's funny, it's witty, it shows that hard work will pay off in the end and you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and give everyone a chance and encourage them rather than shutting them off. 7 out of 10.

A mediocre movie with a few great moments between the two leads.

[Freak-10 · 5/10 · 16 October 1998]

Overall, not a BAD flick, but I'm glad I watched a friend's copy instead of paying a rental fee. Being a hockey fan I was prepared to be bored to tears by the figure skating plotline, but D.B. Sweeney played a (mostly) believable ex-hockey player, and the predictable situations throughout the film were nicely balanced out by what turned out to be sort of a surprise and not-too-unoriginal ending. I'd recommend seeing it if you're into any kind of skating and can't find anything better to watch on any given night.

A Nod to the Rom/Coms of YesterYear

[staceym · 10/10 · 31 July 2004]

The Cutting Edge is a classic movie and one which I never get tired of watching.

The chemistry between Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney really sells this picture, even before you see the impressive scenery and fantastic skating sequences.

The script is filled with quotable gems, (It's not like his nose was perfect) and what could be a fairly thin story (that, OK, has been done before) is lifted firmly out of the cliche zone by first class direction, a thumping early 90's pop soundtrack and breathtaking choreography.

I can't fault this movie - it's one of my top five - and would recommend it as a family favourite.

This movie gets a very enthusiastic 10/10 from me.

For Skating And Romance

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 17 October 2010]

After viewing The Cutting Edge I realize that I saw some of this same story a few weeks ago when I watched Sonja Henie in It's Your Pleasure. In that film Michael O'Shea is a professional hockey player who gets banned for life after slugging a referee and Henie recruits and trains him to be her partner in her ice show.

No professionals here just talented amateurs. D.B. Sweeney takes a nasty blow during the Olympics in Calgary which robs him of peripheral vision on one side, bad for hockey player where you have to see some opponents coming up on both sides if you have the puck. His career, his hopes of making it to the National Hockey League is over.

At the same time Moira Kelly is a talented, but really temperamental figure skater, a Tonya Harding in the making, who blows the finals at Calgary when she and her partner fail to land a big move. She's decided she needs a new partner. If she's to do well at Albertville four years later she has to have a new partner. But the problem is that she's got such a bad reputation no one will skate with her.

I think you can see where this one is going without too much trouble. The problem I had with The Cutting Edge is the same one I had with the Sonja Henie film, the skills for hockey skating aren't the same for figure skating. I really can't see a Maurice Richard or a Gordie Howe ever making it in figure skating.

Still Sweeney and Kelly are an attractive couple and through some clever editing, distance and rear view cinematography, and shots of them from the neck up on ice you do get the feeling you are watching them if only for a moment. Of course Kelly will never be confused with Sonja Henie and they didn't even try to actually show Michael O'Shea as a figure skater. But both Sweeney and Kelly look far better than James Stewart, Joan Crawford, and Lew Ayres did as skaters in Ice Follies Of 1939.

This is definitely a nice film for fans of figure skating and young romance.

The Cutting Edge isn't so cutting edge.

[nikkichicken · 3/10 · 30 December 2007]

I loved this movie when I was like, 7. I thought it was awesome. I think I really liked this movie because it was about skating and fiding glory in the end. Because I watched it again tonight my opinion is really different. With a sane mind, I don't know how someone could seriously sit through this film. Someone clearly wanted to make this movie, but I don't know why they thought they should have. They may have overthought the plot and underthought the soundtrack. I don't know. I used to rent it like weekly and my brothers would basically run in horror. I wondered why at the time, but now I realize my mistake. Would I sit through it again. Yes. Yes I would. Why? Long live the Pamchenko.

Favorite Film of All Time

[Letyezaoblaka · 3 July 2004]

As a figure skater, my movie choices of my profession are rather limited. If you take out Ronin, in which Katarina Witt is shot, Ice Castle, which I hated, the Cutting Edge is practically the only one left. I loved it. Sure the movie wasn't realistic, but it was good none the less. Wholesome and the skating sequences weren't bad. I loved the Pamchenko. My parter and I even attempted it a few times. Overall, definitely watch this if you are a fan of skating or just have an afternoon to watch a movie. I've seen it more than 20 times...this movie is timeless. My coach plays clips from this movie to us when we are waiting for our turn to compete and even at the celebration parties. I love it.

Cute rom-com set in world of ice skating

[PeachesIR · 7/10 · 5 January 2024]

"The Cutting Edge" is a classic early '90s rom-com with just enough sexual innuendo to appeal to grownups, but not explicit at all. It's set in the world of competitive figure skating. Doug Dorsey (D. B. Sweeney) is a working-class Minnesota guy whose dream of playing pro hockey is dashed when he suffers an injury in the '88 Calgary Olympics. He still has exceptional skating skills, so an emigre Russian coach recruits him to try out as a pairs skating partner to spoiled, wealthy diva Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly), who has discarded or repelled every other possibility.

Dorsey is a tough-talking jock whose initial impression of figure skating is that it's nothing but silliness in sequins. But he quickly takes to the sport when he realizes the skill and strength involved, and he can't resist the bigger challenge: clicking with haughty, difficult prima donna Kate both on and off the ice. This unlikely pair generate plenty of sparks and slowly get past their emotional armor, with lots of witty banter and athletic battles on the practice rink as they pursue Olympic gold and fall for each other along the way. The two leads have good chemistry, and the supporting cast is very effective.

Some parts of the movie look a little low budget and slightly dated (lots of big moussed-up hair and shoulder pads!), but this is a charming, funny sports/love story that also digs into deeper themes, such as the sacrifices made by young, driven (or pushed by their families?) athletes and the difficult choices they make on the road to glory. If you like figure skating, and many people do, you will love "The Cutting Edge," but if you just like a nice rom-com, it's worth a viewing too.

Ultimate chick flick--on ice!

[indigo7699 · 7/10 · 17 January 2003]

Rough-cut babe Doug (D.B. Sweeney) and ice princess Kate (Moira Kelly) skate frantic circles around each other until they compromise and create artistic harmony to save their careers. Really just a fun feel-good movie... ladies, put this on your list for girls' night. Guys, the hockey scenes are short and far between. Unless you're looking for brownie points with your girlfriend, you can skip this one. Note: The soundtrack is pure early-90s nostalgia.

I thought I was alone

[holygallery · 9/10 · 22 February 2006]

WOW, I always thought I was strange for watching this movie 14 times in one day when I was 16. I have a feeling most of you are women, I'm a man and I think this movie is one of the best Rom/Com I've EVER seen. Never mind the fact that it's pretty much an adaptation of Shakespeare's"Taming of the Shrew" The chemistry is spot on between the cast. There was a girl like Kate's character that I was madly in love with at the age of 16. We bickered just like the two leads of this film. This film was my "light and the end of the tunnel". Alas, it was not to be. When I finally confessed, my best friend told me "Never..." Why can't life be like the movies.....

Solid Sports Rom-com

[Sergiodave · 6/10 · 24 October 2020]

Enjoyable romantic comedy about a poor little rich figure skater and an injured ice hockey player. No guessing for what happens, but the story is really good, the acting is fine, and there's that feel good factor we all like. A big thumbs up.

Excellent Coming of Age Romantic Comedy

[PBakerTX · 10/10 · 3 March 2005]

I found this movie very enjoyable to watch. The chemistry between Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney is very realistic. Even their arguments with one another appears genuine. Each of them wounded from previous experiences, not willing to open up to one another. All of this taking place in a point in their lives where they are each struggling to find something more out of life and end up discovering themselves and one another. Eventually, taking both of them beyond the quest of a gold medal.

The skating scenes are wonderful and the music (especially the scores from Patrick Williams) was incredible.

This is a movie that I never get tired of and it keeps drawing me back to it.

The Vidiot Reviews...

[capone666 · 6/10 · 5 June 2016]

The Cutting Edge

When Calgary was awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics, the first thing that Americans did was purchase an atlas.

Surprisingly, the US athletes in this romantic-comedy were able to find Canada.

Colliding on their way to their gold medal competitions, blue-collar hockey player Doug (D. B. Sweeney) and uptight figure skater Kate (Moira Kelly) start off on the wrong skate.

But things get worse when their failures in '88 force them to work together for pairs figure skating success in '92. With clashing styles and personalities, Doug and Kate's disdain on ice quickly turns to passion off it. But at what cost to the performance?

Wrought with early-nineties fashion faux pas and blurry slow-motion skating sequences, this opposite attractions opus is painfully predictable but oddly endearing – enough to spawn three lesser-known sequels.

Incidentally, the offspring of a hockey player and a figure skater will likely grow up to drive a Zamboni.

Yellow Light

vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

Strictly by-the-numbers

[Boyo-2 · 4/10 · 31 July 2000]

The cookie-cutter gets to work overtime in this obvious and unoriginal love story. The plot, such as it is, has been done before a trillion times so there is no need to recount any of it. Suffice to say that all 12 year old girls will love this movie while the rest of us will be forced to make a face. Even the soundtrack is awful! Its not that I dislike figure skating, although I don't, its that I dislike cliched, bad movies.

Must watch Romantic Movie

[joppanLive · 9/10 · 19 February 2018]

I never said a romantic movie "must watch" before. But this one is really something special. "The Cutting Edge" may not have an interesting story or plot twist offered by movies of the same genre. It has a very simple story which was portrayed in a very simple manner. Still this movie succeeds in winning the my heart. Thanks to Moira Kelly for it. The character "Kate Mosley" was safe with Moira and she immersed into it with extreme perfection. The chemistry between Kate and Doug was heart-warming and it uplifts this movie into a different level. I would recommend this movie to everyone and promise you from my heart that it never disappoints.

Decent sports movie about figure skating and coming-of-age

[Wuchakk · 6/10 · 3 January 2016]

Released in 1992, "The Cutting Edge" revolves around a sassy female figure skater who can't keep a partner, Kate (Moira Kelly), and a hockey player, Doug (D.B. Sweeney), who's injury forces him to consider being the girl's partner. They seek Olympic gold with the help of their coach (Roy Dotrice) and the backing of Kate's rich father (Terry O'Quinn). Rachelle Ottley is on hand as Kate's rival for Doug's attention.

The plot is reminiscent of 1978's "Ice Castles" in regards to the romance between a figure skater and hockey player, but this is more of a formula sports flick. Moira Kelly is brassy in the manner of Carrie on The King of Queens (Leah Remini) whereas Sweeney comes across as a more likable Ben Affleck. People complain that they're so opposite that they couldn't possibly be a couple in real life, but there's a reason "opposites attract" is a saying. My wife and I, for instance, are total opposites, but have been happily married for over twenty years. Anyway, everything clicks for an amusing albeit predictable sports movie/drama/romance.

The film runs 101 minutes and was shot mostly in the greater Toronto area, but also Lake Placid, NY (the hallway where the couple first collide, the ORDA Complex) and Pasadena, CA (the interior of the château in France).

GRADE: B-

Predictable, Boring and Unoriginal

[fightingamish00 · 1/10 · 28 March 2008]

Nothing about this movie is any good. It's a formulaic predictable "romantic comedy" geared to make females force their significant others to watch. In other words, it's a predictable chic flick that is neither comedic or romantic and is extraordinarily forgettable. If you like watching the same thing over and over then this movie will fit just perfect. I was also forced to watch this with my g/f at the time and it's no surprise we are no longer together. I enjoy great movies that are wonderful to watch, while she just wants to see the same thing over and over again just with different actors. Nothing good to say about this movie. The title says it all. 1/10 (one b/c I can't give it a zero.