Flying (1986)

**_“Flashdance” meets “Karate Kid” with Olivia d'Abo and Keanu Reeves_** In Buffalo, a former gymnast teen (d'Abo) seeks to get back on the team after recovering from an accident. Will she rise up like a phoenix from the ashes to participate in the regional gymnastics competition in Niagara Falls? Reeves plays her potential beau while Rita Tushingham is on hand as the coach. Shot in autumn, 1984, but not released until 1986, "Teenage Dream” was originally called “Flying,” but is also known as “Dream to Believe” (which was the title card of the version I saw). It’s a knockoff of “Flashdance” (1983) albeit with the teenage milieu of “Karate Kid” (1984). The parallels to “Flashdance” are pretty glaring: Instead of being concerned about auditioning for a dance school, the protagonist is concerned about making the school team. Instead of riding a bicycle, she rides a moped. Instead of living in a ‘hip’ warehouse apartment, she trains at a cool carpet warehouse. Instead of a wealthy beau, she has a rich best friend. Instead of her ballet teacher pal passing away, someone else close dies. I had a bad attitude about this flick when I first started watching since the dubious version I viewed (from Youtube) had washed out colors, obviously taken from a VHS. However, the story & characters pulled me in enough to enjoy the movie. No, it’s not as good as “Flashdance” nor great like “Karate Kid,” but if you’re in the mood for an 80’s flick in the mold of “Dirty Dancing” it’s likable and fills the bill just fine despite its predictableness and a few eye-rolling bits. You can’t beat the Niagara Falls area locations. I was interested in the movie because I was curious to see the two stars when they were so young, but also because I’m familiar with a few of director Paul Lynch’s other films—specifically “Prom Night” (1980), “Humongous” (1982) and “Bullies” (1986)—and I wanted to see how he’d do in a different genre. Quite good, actually. While d'Abo is a highlight on the female front, so is brunette Nicole Kolman, who plays the ‘hot’ stepsister with several possible boyfriends. Kolman only appeared in two films, this one and the similar “Body Moves” (1990). Meanwhile Jessica Steen is notable as best friend, Carla. I can’t close without mentioning the coach’s hideous red mullet, which I hoped had gone out of style with Mrs. Brady a full decade earlier. The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes (full version), and was shot in Toronto and Niagara Falls. GRADE: B-