mcallow2018 "Flying" (aka "Teenage Dream") looks to be another one of those '80s feel-good movies using the same tired premise of a main character overcoming adversity and achieving their dreams- and essentially, it is exactly that. While the story is predictable, there are lots of other things thrown in that were very unexpected of such a movie. Main character Robin is a girl in high school who has a love of gymnastics. Her loving father, also her gymnastics coach, dies in a car crash (this is off-screen and presumably takes place a few years before the film begins) and Robin severely injures her knee in the crash, greatly dampening her gymnastic abilities and forcing her to start training from the ground up. As if this alone wasn't enough to make you root for the underdog, her mother marries a mean brute, presumably to make ends meet, and she must switch schools and move in with him and his daughter (also all takes place before film begins) Not only that, both Robin and her mother work in sweatshop-like conditions in his dry-cleaning business every day, and her mother is also exhausted and sick. At night, Robin goes into some abandoned warehouse (?) with a policeman (?) and practices gymnastics. To top off her depressing life, she helps out with the gymnastics team, who are all snobby and mean to her, except for one, a charming girl who is a good friend but has her own problems as well (starving herself to lose weight)Things do start to look up for Robin, however. After seeing her abilities, the coach adds her to the team, and picks her and two others to compete in an important competition. Keanu Reeves, in the very early days of his career, shines as her dorky friend Tommy and later her boyfriend, whom Robin initially ignored in favor of a preppy boy who, of course, doesn't like her back.Good times do not last long, for as soon as things are going good, Robin's mother dies. Showing almost no emotion about that, Robin almost immediately goes off and has sex with her boyfriend (though they are only shown undressing each other) This was unexpected as well, as only a short while before, Tommy had given up on her and was ignoring her. She has comfort in her friend and in Tommy, and (of course) wins the competition- THE END.Was this an amazing film? Of course not. But if you like a good cheesy '80s flick every once in a while, you'll get all the nostalgic trademarks: big hair, dancing scenes with pop music and boomboxes, training montages, girls in legwarmers, etc.The acting is not great, it's campy, and there are some weird undertones. Olivia d'Abo, who plays Robin, was only 15 at the time of filming, yet there are enough close-up shots of her butt and breasts in tight tank tops to make you feel uncomfortable. Keanu Reeves, pre-stardom, is very likable and believable in his role. There is also the minor token black character, in the form of the trustworthy groovy dancing cop. Olivia d'Abo's use of a stunt double for all of the gymnastics scenes is outrageously obvious, and she is somewhat unbelievable in her role as the (quirky?) Robin. It also should be noted that Reeves was 20 and d'Abo was 15, playing a couple. However, he is so kind and cute and their short scene in bed was about the most sweet and loving thing i've ever seen in a movie, to be honest. They even wash the sheets together afterwards- I mean come on. On the other hand, there was a very strange scene in which Robin intently watches Tommy, biting her lip, as he dumps a bunch of onions and toppings on their street vendor hot dogs. Three seconds later, they are shown French kissing. (???Ew???) Yeah, it's a bad movie, but it's a campy, guilty pleasure, if only for Reeves's very youthful charisma, and it's one you will probably get made fun of for if somebody catches you watching it.

Wizard-8 I wonder what the famed Golden Harvest studio of Hong Kong were thinking when they decided to be associated with this tacky Canadian film. While I do admire the Canadians who made this movie for the fact that they did it on their own without government financing, the finished product is really hard to sit through. It's a pretty cheap-looking affair, looking unfocused and sporting odd-looking pastel colors. What really sinks the movie, however, is the script. There is not one turn in the lumbering story that comes as a surprise or has been given a new spin. Several relationships the movie's heroine is involved with seem unfinished or were left on the editing room floor. If you're wondering about Keanu Reeves, who appeared in this movie before he became famous, let me just say that his level of acting here is just as bad as it is in most of his Hollywood movies. This movie has apparently moved into the public domain, which isn't really a surprise - who on earth would put up the money to maintain its copyright?

dansview Remember that the nostalgic aspect of 80s movies did not apply when they actually came out. So we are reviewing them as pieces of nostalgia, not just as movies. As nostalgia, I liked this one.Buffalo is a good location for a movie about working class teen underdogs. Flashdance and All The Right Moves were in the Pittsburgh area, a bit more cliché.Gotta love that soundtrack, although again, when it actually came out, you were used to hearing that quasi-disco-optimism genre. Now you are enjoying it as nostalgia. It makes the film for me.It was actually filmed in '84 but was not released for a couple of years. Keanu was 20, and Olivia was 15. I hope they were both supposed to be Seniors in high school, given their romantic relationship. (As opposed to Sophomores)Most of Olivia's early films were showcases for her considerably precocious and provocative budding sexuality. In this one though, she was so young, that it makes you feel a bit creepy watching it, unless you are a youngster yourself. I guess the intended audience was and is, teenagers, but even so, 15 is too young for screen sex in my opinion.I'm still not sure what dancing in a warehouse has to do with competitive gymnastics, although I understand that Tumbling routines are done to music. In Flashdance, the girl was making a living as a pop dancer, while aspiring to ballet. Not so in this one.The warehouse scenes were gratuitous and included the obligatory dancing African American. That made me squirm, sensing exploitation, but no one forced the guy to do it.They really stacked the deck with all our character's home life troubles too. Jeez. Dead dad, abusive step dad, ill mom, surly sister, anorexic friend. Wow.Reeves displays his usual "everyman" appeal that made him a star. I mourn the awkward heavy vibe he adopted or was forced to develop, in later films. He looks very young here.If you are a teenager and fantasize about having a boyfriend like teen Keanu, or you are a lonely girl who dreams of overcoming odds and finding love, you will enjoy this one. Please enjoy the 80s vibe and learn to appreciate your parents' generation.

HelenMary This is a typical 80s dance/gymnastic/music vehicle type of film; underdog with a hard life works hard and is involved in lots of montage shots to add drama and interest including the 80s obligatory "girls getting sweaty whilst working out in leotards" scene. It's typical of the 80s in terms of gregarious fashion and music, much reminiscent of Flashdance and that sort of thing and the music is poppy and upbeat. D'Abo wasn't bad, but was slightly cheesy and you could see her consciously acting - especially in the more emotional bits *pauses, looks up so voice breaks* but it was typical of the genre. Fans of gymnastics will possibly enjoy this for the technical stuff but you are aware that a body double was used for most of it so it's all a bit silly. Keanu Reeves plays the adorable wannabe/boyfriend (cue more High School "romance" montages) and is even then (age 22?) the most convincing of the actors in the film - everyone else is a little contrived and stage school enunciation/deliberately emotive whereas Reeves is more natural and smooth, and is some needed comic relief in some of the silly scenes predictive of Ted Theodore Logan goofiness.Certainly not the best movie I've ever seen but I quite enjoyed it for what it is - an 80s teen fun film with a few morals/inspirations thrown in especially it's notable by it's inclusion of positive role model black characters that aren't glorified extras and don't conform to negative stereotypes that were common back then, albeit how improbable the relationships are. I applaud the film for showing up the racist character as a total and utter prat, rather than the comic relief (!) and some serious issues are addressed in the film - it's actually a little darker than comparable films.Lots of different names for this film - Flying, Teenage Dream (?) and the one I have is "Dream to Believe" which is daft - Flying makes a lot more sense as it's actually referenced in the film. I do love 80s films and whilst this isn't one of the best, it is what it is and it was fairly entertaining.