A high-school bookworm transforms into a swan in Walt Disney Pictures' "ICE PRINCESS." Brainy Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) has never quite fit in. Caught between her fantasy of becoming a championship figure skater and her strong-willed mother (Joan Cusack), who has her on the fast track to Harvard, she can only hope to be like Nikki, Tiffany and Gen (Hayden Panettiere)--three elite skating prodigies who are ruthlessly competing on the US National circuit (and have attitudes to match). But when Casey gets the chance to train with Gen and her coach, a disgraced former skating champion who also happens to be Gen's mother (Kim Cattrall), she must dash her own mother's hopes in order to pursue her dream. Now, with only the support of Gen's teenage brother, a hunky Zamboni driver (Trevor Blumas), Casey takes on the challenge of her life when she finds herself competing against the best to make it into the championship circuit and become a real "ice princess." [TRAILER]

STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW

Every sports movie – well, at least every movie about a single-person sport - eventually comes to a scene where that athlete must overcome his or her inner demons. It is what makes sports compelling, and for good reason; Watch any Olympics, Super Bowl or World Series broadcast and you’ll encounter a series of human-interest segments that talk about their commitment, passion, struggles and destiny.

Observing the Olympics last summer, this is precisely what struck me when watching such obscure events as Equestrian or even Table Tennis. Sports give humans a venue to compete and, through our competitive spirit, to transcend what we thought was possible. How many athletes, upon winning the gold medal, or winning the World Series, take on a look of disbelief, unable to comprehend what they just accomplished?

The joy of sports movies, then, is building up to this moment – this one instant of success or failure. The successful films bring the audience along, into that moment and that challenge, bringing us to the precipice so that we rejoice at the moment of victory.

“Ice Princess” has two such scenes, where a scared girl stands in the center of an ice rink, composes herself, starts her routine, and comes to that first big jump which will seal her destiny.

Problem is, we’re right there alongside her during the first routine, but feel miles away during the second.

Casey (Michelle Trachtenberg) is a self-proclaimed “science nerd,” with her sights set on Harvard. Her mother, Joan (Joan Cusack) is a teacher and passionate feminist, vigorously promoting good grades and ambitious academic goals for her high schooler.

In hopes of receiving a scholarship, Casey must devise a unique, but “personal” science experiment. So she sets out to do what most PhD students would deem too ambitious: Discern the physics of the figure skater, and create an algorithm for what constitutes the perfect skating routine.

This puts her in contact with Gen (Hayden Panettiere) and her snotty, elitist friends, Tina (Kim Cattrall), the group’s coach and Gen’s mother, and Teddy (Trevor Blumas), the rink’s zamboni operator and Gen’s brother. Casey films the skaters, crunches the numbers, and suddenly has the notion of testing her science in reality.

Sure enough, wouldn’t ya know it, she’s a world-class skater!

What’s more interesting in this film, however, is its honest discussion of the zeal of parents in robbing children of their childhood. Both Casey and Gen have parents who allow their personal fears, passions and quirks to overwhelm their daughters.

For Casey, her mom is too insecure about the beautiful Tina teaching her to be pretty rather than strong, involving her in a sport too expensive for their limited budget, and taking her away from her studies for something far too frivolous and silly.

For Gen, her mom wants to live vicariously through her victories, stealing from her the innocence and fun of youth.

These are real issues for kids, particularly student athletes and figure skaters who must condition themselves from adolescence. And “Ice Princess” does not pretend as though these pressures did not exist. That’s why we’re with Casey during her first competition at a regional meet. She only wants to know if she can do it, and we want to know too.

But we’re not there once the film diverts into full-bore sports melodrama. It simply hasn’t paid its dues in this genre, focusing too much on family and not enough on the intricacies on the sport.

In fact, “Ice Princess” really isn’t a sports movie at all, but rather an interesting, and important social commentary that frequently trails off into irrelevant sport montages.

Pity, because right now our society needs less of the sports and more of the commentary.

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