tdowd-2

As a young hockey player growing up, this was one of the movies that I adored. There is a very dramatic 80s style soundtrack, lots of dramatic stickwork and the evil goaltender has a mask that looks like a skull.

This is still a fun movie to put on, and if you've played hockey or ice skated, it is easy to relate to some of the scenes in the movie But once you watch it a lot, you realize EVERYONE is a one dimensional stereotype, from the aloof fathers who really love their kids, to the innocent young kid having to come of age, to the older brother figure, to the nothing-but-evil villain. It starts to wear thin.

Still, the opening scene with skating in the barn captures the excitement of being on the ice better than any other scene I could think of.

What makes this movie so wonderful is how good a job Robin Williams and Nathan Lane do as portraying loving, dedicated parents. Aside from the amazing soundtrack and the fun antics, it is their sheer goodness as human beings that stays in your head for a long time.

A fun thing to do is compare this movie to La Cage Aux Folles and see how different characters are interpreted differently. The son in the Birdcage is a much more complex character than the one in La Cage, and a lot of the movie is about him accepting his identity. The daughter, on the other hand, is much more of a three dimensional character in La Cage.

The other nice thing about this movie is that unlike in the original, you end up liking the girls parents to some extent. They actually do have a lot in common with the heroes. That isn't true in La Cage, where the girl's father seems to be almost sinister