The Cutting Edge (Film Review)

1992 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Directed by: Paul Michael Glaser; Written by: Tony Gilroy
Starring: D. B. Sweeney, Moira Kelly, Roy Dotrice, and Terry O'Quinn
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 102 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 8/10

Doug's an up-and-coming hockey player, ready for his big shot in the Olympics. Kate is an up-and-coming figure skater, ready for her big shot in the Olympics. Both their first Olympic attempts result in disaster, as Doug suffers a career-ending eye-injury and Kate is dropped by her partner and doesn't medal. Doug heads back home to Minnesota, works in a factory, helps out at his brother's bar, and plays in a hockey bar league. Kate goes through partner after partner, and just can't find the right fit, until her Russian coach has a wild idea: what about that once promising hockey player? Doug is still a great skater, but he's also an unruly caveman. Meanwhile, Kate is a cold and icy bundle of rudeness. Apart, they're barely bearable. Together, though, they share a fiery, competitive will that makes them both better. Will they be able to skate along the cutting edge to victory and maybe love, or will it tear them both apart? I'm betting on love and victory, if anyone wants to put some money on it.
I don't like romantic comedies. They all follow the same formula. Two people who look bad on paper learn to like, then love each other, some contrivance comes along to pull them apart, and then that contrivance is overcome and they live happily ever after. The writing, performances, and direction in The Cutting Edge render my derision of that formula mute.
As Doug and Kate, respectively, D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly have incredible chemistry and are incredibly likable, even as they play two incredibly prickly characters. It's rare that a film presents two romantic leads who are so flawed. Instead of having one "good" person teach the other "bad" person how to be better, these two just naturally make each other better by their presence. There are no tired lectures, no leaning into tropes. Doug and Kate feel real.
Their dialogue is also crackling, thanks to Tony Gilroy, who'd eventually come to fame through his work on the Bourne films. Meanwhile, Paul Michael Glaser's direction is just right. While the skating scenes do leave a bit to be desired (an injury to Kelly early in filming likely didn't help), his work throughout the rest of the film is pitch perfect. Bring in some excellent supporting players like Roy Dotrice's lovable Russian coach, and Terry O'Quinn as Kate's kind, yet demanding father, and you've got a genre-transcending classic I plan on enjoying for as long as I can watch movies.