Review: Youngblood


American Rob Lowe, as the title character, aspires to a life beyond the family farm and on the ice, leaves his family behind to go to Canada (eh?) and try out for a pro hockey team. Hopefully, he’ll do better than his one-eyed older brother Jim Youngs (Older/Youngs? Huh?), who crashed and burned a while back. He does indeed earn a spot on coach Ed Lauter’s team, earning him the ire of a bully whose spot he moves in on. Gee, do ‘ya think the bully will end up on an opposing team to clash with our hero in the finale? Patrick Swayze is the experienced player who takes the rookie under his wing, but not before an amusing hazing ritual involving the horny middle-aged lady (Fionnula Flanagan) who runs the team’s housing. Cynthia Gibb plays the coach’s daughter, and you just know our hero Youngblood is gonna tap that arse before long. Eric Nesterenko plays Lowe’s dad, and in real-life was a former pro in the NHL, who played mostly for the Chicago Blackhawks. Keanu Reeves turns up in an early role as the phony-accented team goalie.

 

Clichéd, disposable, but not awful 1986 Peter Markle (minor league director of “Bat 21”, “El Diablo” and the infamously bad final film of John Candy “Wagons East!”) ice-hockey movie is standard formula stuff with a really pretty cast, and solid work by most of them (bland Gibb and ridiculously accented Reeves are the sore thumbs), especially charismatic Swayze, well-cast Lauter, and an amusing Flanagan. Hell, even pin-up boy Lowe has been worse. It’s nothing memorable or demanding, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the critics of the time made it out to be.

 

If you love your ice-hockey with a side order of faux-French Canadian Keanu (who was actually quite accomplished in the sport, whilst Swayze had at least done some figure skating), this is your movie. Most others need not apply.

 

Scripted by the director, who was apparently a former member of the US National Hockey Team and loosely based things on his own experiences. In the 80s sports movie stakes, it’s better than “Wildcats”, but not “All the Right Movies” and certainly not “The Karate Kid” or even “Rocky III”. But it is quite easy viewing nonetheless. Everyone likes an underdog story, don’t they? Even an average one like this has its charms.

 

Rating: C+

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