Review of Ice Castles

Lynn-Holly Johnson came to my attention when my fourth grade class watched the horror movie "Watcher in the Woods"; it contained no violence or nudity or anything like that, so it was considered appropriate for school (it was also the first movie in which I ever saw Bette Davis; it also starred Carroll Baker and David McCallum, but they didn't register in my mind until several years later). Johnson played the older daughter of a family that moves to an eerie manor where a girl mysteriously disappeared some decades earlier; the movie was pretty much what you'd expect, although I did find Johnson quite hot. It wasn't until several years later that I learned that she was a professional skater.

So now I've seen a more prominent movie starring her: Donald Wrye's "Ice Castles", in which she gets to show off her main talent. Damned if she wasn't a master at figure skating. The story itself is kind of maudlin but I did enjoy seeing Johnson doing her stuff. At the very least, it was appropriate to cast an actual skater in the role. The depiction of the coach is enough to give anyone misgivings about professional sports.

In the end, it's not a masterpiece, but a respectable look at the vicissitudes of pursuing one's dream, especially when tragedy strikes. Carole Bayer Sager's Oscar-nominated theme song will never be one of my favorites, but it does fit the mood. Worth seeing.