Youngblood (1986)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Dean Youngblood	Rob Lowe
Jesse Chadwick	Cynthia Gibb	½
Derek Sutton	Patrick Swayze
Murray Chadwick	Ed Lauter
Heaver	Keanu Reeves

Review

Don't you just love those unscrupulously clichéd, over-the-top sports movies? Well, here's the mother of them all. The title character name says it all actually, it means you're off to a good start. Youngblood is about ice-hockey, but not precisely the real thing. It is a film about fantasy, not reality, and every single character relation and bit of dialogue is humorously corny. But all this is what actually makes this movie what it is. In many ways it is the epitome of the 80s youth movie. That Rob Lowe is in the lead is therefore nothing less than expected. And young Lowe is incredible – demonstrating his limited dramatic talent while wearing his heart on his sleeve. It is an emotional film, even if all the emotions are artificial and forced. Luckily, they are massively forced (check out Ed Lauter; I'm not sure whether he's doing comedy or just being himself). You'd be ignorant not to notice that Rocky is the formula, and although it is a highly simplified version, Youngblood does provide many of the same feel-good moments.