Ice Princess (Michelle Trachtenberg)

(Amazon UK link)

Every so often, browsing a second-hand stall or thrift shop, I come across a DVD which I have never heard of, but which looks like a good film. ‘Ice Princess’ was one that caught my eye recently, so I paid my fifty cents. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but assumed it would be fairly lightweight and innocent as it’s a Disney production with a U rating.

Casey (Michelle Trachtenberg) is the main character in the story. She’s sixteen, and a physics geek. She has quite a pushy mother (Joan Cusack) who is determined that she should get into Harvard University. Her physics teacher thinks she’s in with a chance of a scholarship, if she can come up with an unusual and compelling research project.

One of the things Casey does for exercise and relaxation is ice skating. She hasn’t had lessons; she skates around a large pond outside her home. But in conversation with some girls at her school who are skating in competitions, she starts wondering if she could digitise their movements, and calculate what would help with faster turns, higher jumps and other moves.

Inevitably she gets into trouble when she starts trying to film some of her classmates training, but is able to persuade one of the coaches, Tina (Kim Cattrall), and the parents that she’s not a spy, and not planning to hurt anyone or publish anything other than in her project. She gets quite excited about it, and makes some interesting discoveries… then realises that if she’s going to make this project truly personal, she should take some lessons herself and apply her principles to her own skating.

Casey and her mother don’t have spare money - her mother is a teacher, and her father isn’t in the picture - but she works in fast-food places to earn sufficient to take lessons with much younger children. And, perhaps inevitably, she turns out to have a lot of talent.

So there’s a lot of skating in the film, there’s some tension including some quite heated scenes between Casey and her mother who would be horrified if she realises how much time her daughter is giving to skating, and how much she enjoys it. There’s tension, too, with the coach Tina and her daughter Gen (Hayden Panettiere), who is being trained every moment of the day, unable to eat what she wants to eat, or to spend any time with her boyfriend. But Amy, unlike some of her friends, is not passionate about skating and would really like a more ordinary life…

It’s quite an old film now, made in 2005, but it doesn’t come across as dated (other than the lack of mobile phones). The characters are mostly three-dimensional; I particularly liked Tina’s son Teddy (Trevor Blumas) who drives the machine that smooths the ice after it’s been used. Gen has two friends who are committed skaters, also very talented, and there’s quite a bit of humour in their interactions, albeit a bit caricatured.

There’s nothing very deep about this film; it’s a ‘follow your dream’ theme, not really surprising for Disney and although there’s a bit of unpleasantness towards the end, and an attempt at sabotage, it’s all resolved relatively easily. Some of the parent-daughter scene are quite tense, but again everything turns out well at the end.

It made a pleasant hour-and-a-half’s viewing. It’s the kind of film that would be suitable for anyone, even fairly young children, although unlikely to be of much interest to anyone younger than about ten. A younger child might need to know that there are no princesses involved. The only ‘extras’ are some deleted scenes, which were interesting to watch.

Recommended if you want something light for the whole family.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Father of the Bride (Steve Martin)

(Amazon UK link)

We wanted something light-hearted to watch on an evening when we were both tired. We hadn’t seen the 1991 film ‘Father of the Bride’ since July 2012, and with a nine-year gap we had forgotten most of it. So it seemed like a good idea to see it again.

Steve Martin stars as George Banks, who opens the film sitting in the detritus of a wedding, evidently held in his home. He gives a monologue about his daughter growing up, and just what happens when she decides to get married…

The action switches to six months earlier when his daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams) gets home after an assignment abroad, and it’s clear that she and her father are very close. But she has an announcement to make: she hasn’t just met ‘someone’, she’s fallen in love and they are engaged. Bryan (George Newbern) arrives soon afterwards, very nervous but deeply in love.

George takes Bryan in dislike, not because there is anything objectionable about him; simply because he doesn’t want his little girl to grow up and find another man who is more important than her father. The film is about him coming to terms with that, knowing that he has to let go in order for her to be happy.

But although there are some very poignant moments, it’s also a very funny film. Steve Martin’s expressions and body language are superbly done - his comic timing is always good. Diane Keaton plays his wife Nina, who finds him frustrating at times but loves him dearly; she’s a great foil for his overreactions to situations, and plays the part of peacemaker in the family.

I should also mention Annie’s little brother Matty (Kieran Culkin). The actor was only about nine when the film was made, but he too has excellent comic timing, and a great role, with amusingly mature wisdom at times.

Most of the film covers the preparations for the wedding, organised by ‘Franck’ (Martin Short) who is an over-the-top pseudo-French and rather camp person, brilliant in his artistry but sparing no expense. Annie’s family is quite well off but, as George explains, the wedding cost more than their house - and the amounts discussed seem extortionate even now, thirty years after the film was made.

There are scenes and lines which made us laugh aloud as well as those where I felt a strong sense of empathy, particularly after 18 months of pandemic without seeing my sons or grandchildren. It’s a bit schmaltzy of course, but thoroughly enjoyable too - and exactly what we needed for an evening’s light relaxation.

Definitely recommended if you like romantic comedies with more comedy than romance. It’s rated PG which reflects the lack of violence or anything explicit. There’s almost no bad language, although there are inevitably one or two sexual references. However the subject matter is unlikely to be of interest to anyone under the age of about twelve.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

One True Thing (Meryl Streep)

(Amazon UK link)

We had no idea what to expect when we decided to watch ‘One True Thing’. I had bought it used from a church sale because Meryl Streep was listed as one of the main characters and she’s always excellent value. But we had never heard of the film - it was made in 1998, apparently.

Ellen (Renée Zellweger) is in fact the first person we meet; she’s being interviewed, probably by a policeman or other official, and it’s clear that she realises she could be in trouble. Her mother has died, after a long illness, and it appears that there were suspicious circumstances. But we only get hints of what happened at the start. The story immediately flashes back to a surprise party given for her father George (William Hurt).

Kate (Meryl Streep) is an outgoing, organised kind of person and we meet her dressed as ‘Dorothy’ from ‘Wizard of Oz’, since the party is a fancy dress one. Ellen and the friend she’s travelled with are not dressed up; it’s immediately clear that she’s a very different personality from her mother. She’s career-minded and intelligent, and she’s also an aspiring writer who works in a news agency.

When George arrives home, he’s quite surprised; I wondered if he was going to object to the party, but it’s clear that he adores his wife even though he does very little around the house. He’s an academic who has published a book, and Ellen clearly wants his approval, seeing her mother as rather irritating and not particularly intelligent.

The party sets the scene skilfully for the different relationships within the family. Ellen has a very nice brother (Tom Everett Scott) who won’t admit to their father that he has failed an exam. He’s more like their mother in personality, but gets along well with his sister. And George is really not a good father, although his relationship with his wife seems to be a good one…

The bulk of the film takes place a while later when it’s clear that Kate has a terminal illness, and needs full-time care. George is not willing to take a sabbatical from his work, so Ellen is guilt-tripped into taking a break from her own career, despite being on the verge of a very good story. As Ellen spends more time with her mother, they finally start to acknowledge each other’s strengths, and Ellen begins to understand her a bit better…

It was quite a long film by today’s standards (over two hours) but right from the start we were mesmerised. Renée Zellweger is excellent as Ellen, and William Hurt is very good as the dislikable George. But - as is usually the case - it’s Meryl Streep who steals the show, in almost every respect. She must have been about fifty when this film was made, but could have passed for not much more than forty at the start. Her descent into serious illness, making her look twice that age by the end, is brilliantly done. I’m sure a lot of the credit must go to her make-up artiste, but as a sick woman she is entirely believable, brilliant throughout.

It’s a moving story; there are a few light-hearted moments to lift the mood a little, but although the party at the start is a little over-the-top, it manages to be believable, as does Kate despite the garish costume and extraverted cheerfulness even in the face of her somewhat condescending daughter.

It’s the kind of story that will stay with us, something we might watch again in another eight or nine years. It’s rated 15 (R in the United States!) despite no nudity, nothing explicit and no violence. Admittedly the subject matter is unsuitable for younger children, and there’s some bad language (though not excessive). The descent into agonising illness is quite disturbing too. But I don’t think there’s anything unsuitable for younger teens with reasonable maturity, and would have expected it to be rated 12 or PG-13 (as it is in some other countries).

Definitely recommended, if you like a drama with sensitive and potentially disturbing subject matter. The pace is excellent, the people so believable that we were totally caught up in the storyline. And it's quite thought-provoking too. The ending is bittersweet but overall positive, if a tad shocking.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews