Once upon time, when the earth was green, an obscure and unambitious little young adult romcom was produced in Canada. The name of the film was The Cutting Edge. To the great surprise of everyone both in front of, and behind, the camera, the film was magical, a genuine phenom, and became (and still is!) a cult classic. If you have not seen it, stop reading this and go find a copy. NOW.

(Yes, yes, I know, before the email starts, the official IMDb profile says that CE1 was a US production but if you read the fine print, you will see that all filming was done in and around Toronto. Which means that most of the production staff were Canadian. Which makes this a first-generation Canadian film. Understand this -- there is a reason that most first-gen Canadian films have never been seen or heard of again. To be able to say that CE1 actually became a classic is ... extraordinary.) OK, back to CE2, a direct to video production. The good news is the performance of Christy Carlson Romano. It is never less than good and often more than great. It literally sustains the weak script (in many places a copy of CE1) and forgettable performances from the rest of the cast. Not their fault though. Looks like it was produced on a shoestring.

I read the IMDb reviews which tout that this film is good enough to stand on its own. Ugh! Listen, if not for the success of CE1, which started the franchise, this production would never have happened. At the end of the day, THAT is the acid test.

Jackie Dorsey (Christy Carlson Romano) is the daughter of Olympic skaters Kate Mosley and Doug Dorsey (from the first Cutting Edge film). She has been a singles skater, and a fine one but, during a competition, she falls hard and breaks a leg. Her parents are very concerned but doctors say the leg will heal and Jackie is determined to skate again. However, the young, very lovely ice princess decides to become a pairs skater, thinking that she can rely on the support of a partner, should her leg give her trouble. While continuing the healing process on a California beach, Jackie meets Alex (Ross Thomas),a hotshot surfer and line skater. A romance begins but he doesn't know who she is and she doesn't know that he might already have a girlfriend. When these revelations come to light, Jackie heads back to Connecticut, in a huff. Nevertheless, Alex begins skating lessons in a quest to become Jackie's new partner. Amazingly, he is a natural and, although Jackie is very reluctant, at first, they become a winning duo. Yet, complications are still present, for Alex and Jackie run hot and cold, on and off the ice, and Alex's old girlfriend re-enters the picture right before the Olympics. How will this mixed-up twosome fare in the most important competition of their lives? This is a nice film for fans of the first movie and of romantic drama in general. In fact, it echoes the original flick on many occasion, from Jackie's prima donna attitude, like her mother, Kate's, to Alex's wandering eye for the female sex, just like Jackie's dad, Doug Dorsey. Then, too, if the two main actors, Romano and Thomas, are not quite on par with Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney, of the first film, they are attractive and talented in their own ways. Naturally, the scale of the movie is not as grand, either in costuming, sets, or production but it is certainly adequate. As for the skating scenes, they are very nice indeed. A number of real life skating stars, including Oksana Baiul, make cameos so, dear viewer, keep a watch out. There are, perhaps, some viewers who may object to the fast-and-loose morals of Alex, with good reason. Therefore, parents might want to watch and discuss the film with their children before a joint viewing. But, really, this is quite a nice movie for lovers of skating and/or romance. Although it may not be a "gold medal" flick, it is certainly able to happily entertain its target audience.

This movie was truly a disappointment. I absolutely loved the first one, and would definitely give it 10 stars! When I heard that there was a second one, I was really happy, and thought that I might enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed the first one. Well, I definitely did not!! Maybe if you just decided to watch this one and not the first one, you might like it, but to have watched the first one, and then this one, this should be a disappointment! First off they basically just copy lines and scenes from the first one, which makes it even worse, because the scenes aren't good in this movie. I have many other reasons, but to make it easier, it just wasn't good!! I mean I'm a girl who watches a lot of chick flicks, even bad ones and actually enjoy some of them! This one was horrible; so please, if your interested in this type of movie watch the first one, it is way better, funnier, and I promise you that you will enjoy it a lot more than you would enjoy this one!