Director: Paul Lynch
Stars: Olivia d'Abo, Keanu Reeves, Rita Tushingham
Genre: Drama | Romance | Sport
MPAA Rating:
Running Time: 90 Mins
Format: VHS
Tagline: "All Things Are Possible..."
The Movie Itself:
Every now and then I get the urge for a good 80's movie...don't you? There is something about them that I love, it's a cross between the music, the cinematography, and the clothing of that era. This movie is no exception to the rule. I came across "Dream to Believe" at my local thrift store; lying in the abandoned VHS aisle of the store. I was a little reluctant at first about buying this movie, but for 50 cents, one can't really complain about breaking the bank. Being that it was the only 80's movie left in the store, I picked this little unknown gem and took it home.
The movie tells the story of a young girl named Robin Crew (Olivia d'Abo)who wants to strive high in her high school gymnastics team. Her dreams to become the best are at times fallen short with dilemmas at home. We learn early in the film that Robin is victim of abuse by her stepfather, and that she lost her real father in a car accident, which left her with a severe injury on her knee, making the process to compete more of a challenge.
As an audience, we get to see Robin overcome the initial challenge of the competition, which I thought was handled excellently. Instead of making it a superficial issue, the writers of the film managed to incorporate the injury with her own personal problems at home. Problems like the ones with her stepfather, who through most of the film is finding a way to prevent her from competing. The conflicts are so severe she is left with no choice than to run off and practice gymnastics in the streets, in abandoned buildings, etc.
Aside her personal problems, we get to also see characters who are a source of inspiration for her. Such as her gymnastic buddy who helps her train for the competition, two silly police officers that oddly really like Robin's moves and Tommy Warneki (Keanu Reeves) who is desperately trying to ask Robin out, even though her barely knows a thing about her, yet his intentions are noble. Also, Robin sister plays initially the part of a bratty sister,that somehow as the film progresses changes her personality and embraces her sister's competition, even though at first all she did was complain and criticize her.
The movie is by no means perfect, it's far from that, yet it manages to entertain. At times it feels as if you are watching a poor man's Flashdance. No lie, there is alot of comparison to be made between both films. For starters, the music in Dream to Believe is similar to that of Flashdance. Than again, alot of electro-pop music of that time was very much the same. That is not to say that the movie suffers, on the contrary, the movie may be corny and unrealistic at times, but it has a certain charm to it. I would definitely watch this movie again some time in the future. If you are in the mood for a light hearted drama about a young girl with dreams to compete in gymnastics, with a good dose of 80's cliches and electro pop music, this is the movie for you. I know for a fact that I got my fix for the day from this movie;I was looking for a decent 80's movie and I got it.
Picture Quality:
Like I mentioned in the beginning of the review, I found this movie in the abandoned aisle of my local thrift store...and I feel that this copy in particular had been laying around in the sun. I say that because the picture quality on this VHS suffers. I understand the life expectancy of a VHS tape is about 15-20 years, and the copy I own is roughly around that age. But, it still no excuse, the colors are murky in night scenes that are supposed to be well lit, day scenes look extremely faded and not to mention there is plenty of scenes where the image fades, but that is probably a problem with the tape itself. I have researched to see if there is a DVD or Digital Download of this movie with better picture quality with no luck. The only copy that exists on DVD is a bootleg taken from a second generation VHS copy, that looks worse than the one I own. Also the cover for the DVD is atrocious it looks like they took a paparazzo photo of Keanu and striped a modeling picture out of a magazine for Olivia d'Abo.
(Bootleg DVD)
Sound Quality:
The sound on this VHS is worse than the picture quality, it is supposed to be High Fidelity sound and all I got was Mono sound. I had to raise the volume several times to understand the dialogue. Again, this issue is more than likely a problem with the handling over the years of the copy I purchased rather than the actual quality it once had when new. I have viewed clips of the DVD and the sound quality is somewhat better, but as I mentioned, it is taken from what looks like a copy of a copy of a VHS Tape.
Bottom Line:
This is definitely a forgotten 80's movie that deserves at least a view. I will admit that I like it, and probably might watch it again down long the road. I just hope that they re-release this movie remastered. It may not be better than Flashdance or Footloose or any other similar movie of it's time, but it is entertaining, and for that I would recommend this movie for those who enjoy 80's movies as I do. So, if you ever find a copy on VHS don't hesitate, pick it up.
Stars: Olivia d'Abo, Keanu Reeves, Rita Tushingham
Genre: Drama | Romance | Sport
MPAA Rating:
Running Time: 90 Mins
Format: VHS
Tagline: "All Things Are Possible..."
The Movie Itself:
Every now and then I get the urge for a good 80's movie...don't you? There is something about them that I love, it's a cross between the music, the cinematography, and the clothing of that era. This movie is no exception to the rule. I came across "Dream to Believe" at my local thrift store; lying in the abandoned VHS aisle of the store. I was a little reluctant at first about buying this movie, but for 50 cents, one can't really complain about breaking the bank. Being that it was the only 80's movie left in the store, I picked this little unknown gem and took it home.
The movie tells the story of a young girl named Robin Crew (Olivia d'Abo)who wants to strive high in her high school gymnastics team. Her dreams to become the best are at times fallen short with dilemmas at home. We learn early in the film that Robin is victim of abuse by her stepfather, and that she lost her real father in a car accident, which left her with a severe injury on her knee, making the process to compete more of a challenge.
As an audience, we get to see Robin overcome the initial challenge of the competition, which I thought was handled excellently. Instead of making it a superficial issue, the writers of the film managed to incorporate the injury with her own personal problems at home. Problems like the ones with her stepfather, who through most of the film is finding a way to prevent her from competing. The conflicts are so severe she is left with no choice than to run off and practice gymnastics in the streets, in abandoned buildings, etc.Aside her personal problems, we get to also see characters who are a source of inspiration for her. Such as her gymnastic buddy who helps her train for the competition, two silly police officers that oddly really like Robin's moves and Tommy Warneki (Keanu Reeves) who is desperately trying to ask Robin out, even though her barely knows a thing about her, yet his intentions are noble. Also, Robin sister plays initially the part of a bratty sister,that somehow as the film progresses changes her personality and embraces her sister's competition, even though at first all she did was complain and criticize her.
The movie is by no means perfect, it's far from that, yet it manages to entertain. At times it feels as if you are watching a poor man's Flashdance. No lie, there is alot of comparison to be made between both films. For starters, the music in Dream to Believe is similar to that of Flashdance. Than again, alot of electro-pop music of that time was very much the same. That is not to say that the movie suffers, on the contrary, the movie may be corny and unrealistic at times, but it has a certain charm to it. I would definitely watch this movie again some time in the future. If you are in the mood for a light hearted drama about a young girl with dreams to compete in gymnastics, with a good dose of 80's cliches and electro pop music, this is the movie for you. I know for a fact that I got my fix for the day from this movie;I was looking for a decent 80's movie and I got it.
Picture Quality:
Like I mentioned in the beginning of the review, I found this movie in the abandoned aisle of my local thrift store...and I feel that this copy in particular had been laying around in the sun. I say that because the picture quality on this VHS suffers. I understand the life expectancy of a VHS tape is about 15-20 years, and the copy I own is roughly around that age. But, it still no excuse, the colors are murky in night scenes that are supposed to be well lit, day scenes look extremely faded and not to mention there is plenty of scenes where the image fades, but that is probably a problem with the tape itself. I have researched to see if there is a DVD or Digital Download of this movie with better picture quality with no luck. The only copy that exists on DVD is a bootleg taken from a second generation VHS copy, that looks worse than the one I own. Also the cover for the DVD is atrocious it looks like they took a paparazzo photo of Keanu and striped a modeling picture out of a magazine for Olivia d'Abo.
(Bootleg DVD)
Sound Quality:
The sound on this VHS is worse than the picture quality, it is supposed to be High Fidelity sound and all I got was Mono sound. I had to raise the volume several times to understand the dialogue. Again, this issue is more than likely a problem with the handling over the years of the copy I purchased rather than the actual quality it once had when new. I have viewed clips of the DVD and the sound quality is somewhat better, but as I mentioned, it is taken from what looks like a copy of a copy of a VHS Tape.
Bottom Line:
This is definitely a forgotten 80's movie that deserves at least a view. I will admit that I like it, and probably might watch it again down long the road. I just hope that they re-release this movie remastered. It may not be better than Flashdance or Footloose or any other similar movie of it's time, but it is entertaining, and for that I would recommend this movie for those who enjoy 80's movies as I do. So, if you ever find a copy on VHS don't hesitate, pick it up.
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