Moribund ‘Youngblood’ remake is all pucked up
No doubt seeking to cash in on the phenomenon that is “Heated Rivalry” comes the considerably demurer “Youngblood,” the tale of the guy lonelier than the Maytag repairman, a Black hockey player. And that’s pretty much all there is to Hubert Davis’s remake of Peter Markle’s 1986 original starring Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze as minor league teammates chasing their NHL dreams.
It’s not a bad movie, per se, but it is a labored one that consistently undermines its social conscience-raising aspirations by resorting to an array of sports movie clichés culminating with the cocky, insecure rookie learning to play within his abilities, both on and off the ice. Davis, boasting a resume thick with sports-themed documentaries, is good at instilling verisimilitude, but is at a loss to mine compelling drama from a scattershot script by Seneca Aaron and Josh Epstein that’s short on purpose and meaning.
It also lacks focus. One minute, it’s about the titular character, Dean Youngblood (Ashton James), struggling to retain his composure when repeatedly subjected to racist taunts (think Jackie Robinson) hurled by opponents. The next, it’s about Youngblood’s dysfunctional relationship with his Pops. And lastly, it’s about the evolving personality clash between Youngblood and his taciturn coach, Murray Chadwick, portrayed by a perfectly cast Shawn Doyle. Oh, yeah, there’s yet another subplot about Youngblood’s growing attraction toward Coach’s daughter, Jessie (Alexandra McDonald), a promising goalie who shares Youngblood’s daddy issues.
Whew! That’s a lot for one 100-minute flick, and it shows in how superficially each is addressed. It’s all surface, resulting in two-dimensional characters with little to no inner lives. It’s a liability abetted by James’s lack of charm and charisma. There’s nothing interesting or vital in his lukewarm take on Dean. It’s a performance that’s all about reaction, not pro-action. The father, Blane (Blair Underwood), belittles Dean constantly for being weak and naive, but the kid never stands up for himself. It’s the same on the ice, where an inability to check his emotions gets Dean benched repeatedly for using his stick and fist instead of his vast intelligence to retaliate.
Naturally, it all culminates with the “Big Game,” where it’s win or go home for his Hamilton Mustangs in the Canadian Hockey League semifinals against the hated Thunder Bay Bombers. Maybe it’s just me, but the opponent always seems to be those racist Bombers, whether it’s the regular season or the playoffs. What is this? A two-team league? As with the original film, there’s a goon in the person of the hulking Carl Racki (Donald MacLean Jr.), who delights in tripping, checking and punching poor little Dean. Two guesses who gets the last laugh and the first one doesn’t count.
Therein lies another major flaw with “Youngblood”: its laughable predictability. Early on, when we meet young Dean and his older brother, Kelly, it’s been a tough day in their youth hockey league. So, Mom (Olunike Adelliyi) gifts Dean a lapel pin representing speed and progress. As she hands it to him, you immediately sense she’s a goner. And sure enough, in the very next scene, she’s keeling over from a fatal stroke. Later, when the Mustangs find themselves down a goal late in a game, it’s a certainty that all eyes will turn toward Dean, who seems to score every time he swats the puck.
Oh, and don’t get me started on the flawed way DP Stuart James Cameron films the game action, relying on either extreme long shots or tight close-ups, mostly of feet and the puck. It leaves you in the dark as to where the players are positioned on the ice and their proximity to the nets. It’s frustrating. A sacrifice made, I suspect, because there wasn’t enough room in the budget to hire doubles who can skate. Or, better yet, cast an actor with a background in high school or college hockey. But I digress.
Although I’ve never seen the 1986 original (a robust 44 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), I think I’m safe in saying this remake can’t be much worse, if not better. The filmmakers assert that it’s grittier and more emotionally impactful due to the racial element absent from the Lowe-Swayze version. Still, there’s not a lot here to grab you, including Dean and Jessie’s budding romance, which barely gets across the blue line, if you know what I mean. It’s further hampered by the fact that James and McDonald have almost zero chemistry. There’s more heat in the friendship Dean forges with fellow Mustang Denis Sutton (Henri Richer-Picard), the role Swayze filled back in 1986. But it’s nothing close to what’s happening between Shane and Ilya on “Heated Rivalry.”
“Youngblood” is closer to a low-rent “Rocky,” a rote sports movie with zero surprises and dull characters. There’s nothing rousing or motivating about it. Perhaps that’s because Davis has spent most of his career directing sports documentaries, such as his acclaimed segment in the anthology “Black Ice,” which examined why there are few Black players in the NHL.
It also should be noted that Davis was a last-minute fill-in for Charles Officer, the man who shepherded “Youngblood” through preproduction, only to die on the eve of filming. Perhaps that explains why the cast seems lost in a fog. They were obviously grieving, and you feel sorry for them. But not enough to grant “Youngblood” a pass. Yes, it’s a hockey movie, but its best description emanates from the world of golf: “subpar.”
Movie review
Youngblood
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Ashton James, Blair Underwood, Shawn Doyle, Alexandra McDonald, Emidio Lopez, Henri Richer-Picard and Olunike Adelliyi
Director: Hubert Davis
Writers: Seneca Aaron, Josh Epstein and Peter Markle
Runtime: 104 minutes
Where: In theaters March 6
Grade: C+
