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| The best actor in this film is lurking right behind them. |
1. For a figure skating rom-com targeting women, it's kinda sexist.
The Cutting Edge is a classic enemies-to-lovers, rich girl meets working class guy. Our leading lady, Kate, is one of the world's top athletes and has the ego to go with it... and the male characters keep calling her a "Bitch". The filmmakers initially frame her as the villain. She is an obstacle for Doug to overcome. This movie is unexpectedly Bro-y; they're trying way too hard to prove that Doug is still manly even though he figure skates.
The Cutting Edge is a classic enemies-to-lovers, rich girl meets working class guy. Our leading lady, Kate, is one of the world's top athletes and has the ego to go with it... and the male characters keep calling her a "Bitch". The filmmakers initially frame her as the villain. She is an obstacle for Doug to overcome. This movie is unexpectedly Bro-y; they're trying way too hard to prove that Doug is still manly even though he figure skates.
2. For a sports movie, the montages look terrible.
We're so used to seeing Olympic pairs skating on television shot at a specific distance. This movie doesn't give us that. The Cutting Edge also couldn't do epic Rocky IV-style montages because it would have revealed that the 2 main actors could not skate.
The filmmakers tried to solve this with extreme close ups of the stunt doubles' ankles, and blurry strobe-lighting sequences. It didn't work for me. The "we're getting better at skating" montages don't come across as exciting or inspiring. They just look sloppy.
The filmmakers tried to solve this with extreme close ups of the stunt doubles' ankles, and blurry strobe-lighting sequences. It didn't work for me. The "we're getting better at skating" montages don't come across as exciting or inspiring. They just look sloppy.
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| Blurry |
3. For a movie with so many locations, there's no sense of place.
The Cutting Edge characters travel around the country and around the world, but there's no attempt to add local flavor or the thrill of adventure. It all just feels generic. Doug's character comes from Minnesota, but he speaks with a New York accent. I don't have a clue where Kate and her private ice skating rink are located (the screenplay said it's Greenwich, CT... huh. First time I'm hearing that). Doug and Kate down shots in a Chicago bar, and nobody makes them drink Malort. They end the film in France... I guess. You wouldn't know it.
Compared to other movies we have reviewed where the place is a character (think of all of those "shithole New York" movies from the 1980s!), this movie missed an opportunity to show off all the cool places they go.
Bonus grievance: because I did look at the screenplay, I saw that they cut a scene from the beginning that shows children pair skating for the joy of it.
It got me thinking about how The Cutting Edge doesn't touch on the love of sports. Kate seems pressured to skate by her father; Doug is doing it for the money. This opening scene would have reframed the ending of the movie as Kate and Doug rediscovering their joy of skating through their love for each other...
It got me thinking about how The Cutting Edge doesn't touch on the love of sports. Kate seems pressured to skate by her father; Doug is doing it for the money. This opening scene would have reframed the ending of the movie as Kate and Doug rediscovering their joy of skating through their love for each other...
...but you know what? I don't trust the director to have done this right. He probably would have made it cheesy and terrible. Strike this note.
That's Amanda's cup-half-empty take. For all of our thoughts on The Cutting Edge, including Jess's cup-half-full take, listen below or on YouTube or on your favorite streaming platform.
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