Miracle (PG)

“The Miracle on Ice” is one of my most cherished childhood memories.  Although I never really understood hockey until it came to Texas in the nineties, as a young sports fanatic growing up in the latter years of The Cold War the victory of the United States Hockey team at Lake Placid is a treasured flash in time.  In retrospect, the victory over the Russians on ice foreshadowed the victory yet to come.  But we didn’t know that then.  All I knew was that I had to sit in the car with my Dad waiting in long lines to buy gas, the hostages were in Iran, and the Russian’s were in Afghanistan.  Things were bad and they were getting worse, with the fear of total global nuclear annihilation underlying every thought, every word, and every action.  That win gave us hope, something most Americans hadn’t known for almost a decade.

I’m glad Hollywood waited… and waited… and waited to bring this story to film.  I’m glad it took almost twenty-five years to find its way to the big screen.  This story deserved to be something more than a glib movie-of-the-week experience.  The truth is larger than life in this particular instance, replete with conflict and obstacles and heart long before it ever made it to a theatre near you.  Time has made it even more poignant and revealed so much about who we were as a nation and where we were going to go.

“Miracle” captures the very essence of this great event in American history—it was a turning point.  Not the turning point, but certainly one of many that changed the direction our country was headed.  The Seventies—wrought with upheaval, strife, and uncertainty—were over.  While the fate of the United States seemed to hang in the balance back in 1980, our future as the lone Superpower was beginning to take shape. 

And this was a precarious challenge for the filmmakers.  More than two-thirds of the audience vividly remembers this monumental feat.  It is emblazoned on our memories and to do it right is to render it justly.  I’m delighted to say, the filmmakers accomplished this and so much more.  Half an hour after viewing the film I still found myself in a delicate emotional state, fighting back the tears. 

The best part about this film is simply this—it is a family film.  The temptation here would be to get very realistic.  I’m sure Herb Brooks (the team’s coach, portrayed flawlessly by Kurt Russell, Minnesota accent and all) had an extensive four-letter vocabulary.  Hockey players aren’t exactly known for their sensitivity either, not to mention the single greatest reason to be an Olympic Hockey player—chick ’s dig hockey players, false teeth and all.  Eric Guggenheim delicately handled these matters in his script.  While they are there, just bellow the surface, the film only hints that direction.  There are only a couple of curse words and one choice turn of phrase.  It is a marvelous achievement.  Obviously some vulgarities were looped out, (There are a couple of scenes that resemble something imported from Hong Kong.) but for once, Disney made a family flick without disconnecting us from believability.  Kudos. 

The film portrays the team in a very positive light and it is a shame that Brooks was not able to live long enough to see the final product.  It is said that all the young actors had experience as hockey players and it shows.  Trading veteran actors for skaters was a wise move, turning most of the drama over to Russell’s deft touch.  Patricia Clarkson and Brian Emmerich provide excellent support for Russell in their roles as wife and assistant coach respectively.  All together, these choices make “Miracle” a fantastic movie-going experience.  Director Gavin O’Conner paints a lasting portrait that takes us behind the scenes.  “Miracle” establishes Brooks’ objective from the very beginning—beat the Russians.  And that’s what it was all about.  Beating the Russians.  The gold medal game against Finland became such an afterthought; the USA almost lost the game. 

For my part, the best thing O’Conner did was to weave his game footage with Al Michael’s original play-by-play.  Michaels’ did as much to create “The Miracle on Ice” as did the team when he asked an audience of millions, “Do you believe in Miracles?  Yes.”
 
Yes.  Yes, I do.  This film gets my highest rating—HOT DATE.  Grab that special someone, drag along the kids, and get to the movie theatre before this one slips away.

This copyrighted article was originally published in Grace-Centered Magazine - A daily publication for Christians that examines tradition and aspects of living the Christian life.