Youngblood (1986)

Well Deserved Praise

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Best movie ever!

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Why only 5.5?! This movie deserve much better... I say, there is many movies like this, but this movie have something what others don't have...2 excellent actors ( Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe), make this movie so special...I like this kind of movie because they have good impact on young people.. Many "Youngbloods" have waiting for their chance, this movie talking them that "If you believe in something, you will get that"...My vote is 10, because i didn't seen movie like this years ago. This movie is for everyone... you must see this...

The inconsistency was just too much for me to take.Sadly I must admit that one of the most realistic parts of the film was the tequila scene - been there / done that.For me, the whole film was spoiled by the refereeing decision at the end! When a penalty shooter plays the puck with his skate he has lost control - shot over - no goal!Caught between taking itself too seriously and not seriously enough this was just too disappointing. There was not enough humour (see Slapshot or Happy Gilmour), critique (The Deadliest Season or Net Worth), escapism (The Mighty Ducks or Mystery Alaska), documentary (Summit on Ice), realism (Gross Misconduct), romance (Love Story).

How much you like this movie depends on two questions. Do you like hockey? What kind of hockey do you like? To the first, I give a resounding yes. To the second I say that hitting has always been and will always be a part of the game, but I have never been a fan of stick work or trying to knock good players out of the game. It's that idea that the movie tries to put forth, that Youngblood needs to fight to be a good hockey player, is simply not true. Hell, they could have put future NHL star Steve "Stumpy" Thomas out there to take care of hitting. He is the brick wall wearing number 12 that coach Ed Lauter tries to put on the ice. Anyway, this one of those fighting against the odds movies that just doesn't have enough going for it. They should have taken the movie out to the barn and taught it how to punch.

Dean Youngblood doesn't want to get stuck on the farm like his father Blane and his brother Kelly. He has the chance to make it in minor league hockey, and maybe go on to a major league team such as New York. But to make it with the Hamilton Mustangs, he has to compete with a big tough guy named Racki who enjoys knocking people down.Dean is not tough, but he has speed, so he does get to be a Mustang. He goes through the usual hazing that "the new guy" gets, and he must persevere every step of the way or risk either going back to the farm or ending up in Medicine Hat or some other remote place that I'm sure the longtime residents like.Dean does make one good friend on the team, Derek Sutton. But there is much to learn about being a competitor, especially in a league where violence is accepted as a fact of life (now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if bench-clearing brawls are frowned on in American baseball, how can they actually be encouraged by even the hockey coaches?). Dean must make important moral choices, and then he must think about what his future will be with each possible option.Dean also has a chance at romance. Jessie Chadwick is the adorable but feisty coach's daughter. And his landlady is Miss McGill (think "Bull Durham"). Which one do you think he'll choose? Or will one of them choose him?I know little about hockey. I have seen the "Mighty Ducks" series, and I was watching when a team from my state won the Stanley Cup. So I don't know enough to evaluate the on-ice action. I do know the finale was exciting if somewhat formulaic, with effective use of slow-motion.As for performances, I thought there were some really good moments. Cynthia Gibb did the best job overall, in my opinion. Ed Lauter also had some good scenes as the coach, and a couple of scenes with Dean and Sutton were really good. Jim Youngs and Eric Nesterenko, as Dean's brother and father, both had several scenes alone with Dean which were quite good.This wasn't a comedy, but I liked the humor in several scenes with Jessie. The funniest part of the whole movie: Jessie sneaking a portable radio into school to listen to Dean's game. Close behind was a scene where the public was skating in what I thought was a rink, but it may have been the arena where the Mustangs' games were played.I couldn't shake the feeling that this was another one of those average movies with the usual formula. But it had enough to make me reasonably happy, even if it wasn't a classic.