Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Aspen Extreme Blu-ray Movie Review

'Extreme' is a little, well, 'extreme,' but this average Drama is worth a watch.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 16, 2011

Skiing is the easy part.

For ski pros TJ Burke (Paul Gross) and Dexter Rutecki (Peter Berg), skiing really is the easy part of their lives once they move from the auto manufacturing heart of America to the powdery white ski slopes of Aspen, Colorado. Their story -- a story that's as much about what they do off the slopes as on them -- is at the center of Aspen Extreme, a thematically and structurally simple but emotionally-driven picture about how two friends struggle to maintain their relationship, remain true to themselves, discover who they really are, and avoid the temptations that come with their new upper crust surroundings. Skiing becomes their escape rather than their dream as life interferes with their time on the slopes. New friends, new enemies, new challenges, new loves, and old mistakes make their lives far more challenging than they ought to be. Who knew that strapping on skis and cruising down the mountain in frigid temperatures would indeed be the easy part?

Let's hit the slopes.

Best buds TJ Burke (Paul Gross) and Dexter Rutecki (Peter Berg) decide to ditch their boring Michigan lives and try their hand at doing what they do best: skiing. It's off to Aspen, Colorado in a beat up old van for a chance at getting hired on as ski instructors, but little do they know that means they'll have to beat out about one hundred additional "freshman" for the chance to become one of the town's five new employees. TJ manages to impress the rather stoic boss man Karl (Trevor Eve) to get the job, but Dexter is left in the cold. TJ somehow convinces a man he barely knows to give his friend a chance, and just like that the two are living the dream. Things become complicated when they begin to intermingle with Aspen's elite, longtime residents, and wealthy and demanding guests. TJ finds himself caught between the wealthy socialite Bryce (Finola Hughes) and local radio personality Robin (Teri Polo), the former of whom exudes sex appeal and money but doesn't necessarily have TJ's best interests at heart, the latter of whom is more of a girl next door who encourages TJ's dreams of becoming an accomplished writer. Meanwhile, Dexter finds himself caught up in Aspen's seedier underbelly. As the two make a living on the slopes, they must struggle to make a life in town.

Aspen Extreme doesn't exactly present a novel idea. What's here is rather tired, actually -- a story of love, strained friendship, and tragedy -- but at least the scenery is pretty. Actually, Aspen Extreme is a little better than that. It might not tackle any new themes, but it does tackle old themes with an efficiency and purpose that other films that tackle old themes often don't accomplish. In Aspen Extreme, everything is painted rather broadly. There's no fine character development, no fine-tooth-comb approach to the plot. Still, it stirs base emotions in the viewer while the characters undergo a (generally) expected series of changes, few of which they really could have expected when they packed their bags and left their lives behind for at shot a living a dream. What they find isn't just an easy life on the slopes but a gradual building of personal challenges that will either see them achieve greatness or fumble the ball on the precipice of success. The movie's strength lies in its steadiness; the characters are believable and likable, even if the movie challenges them do little more than go through the motions of life.

Technically, there's a lot to like about Aspen Extreme. The movie produces some fine photography and captures the skiing action with a high speed precision that does well to translate not only the skills but the thrills and dangers that really define the sport. The movie is a tad overlong, but it maintains a good pace thanks to solidly-constructed characters, though not so much because of the generic storyline. Indeed, it's the film's characters that make Aspen Extreme worth cheering for. There's believable and likable chemistry between leads Paul Goss and Peter Berg, enough that audiences will buy the authenticity of their friendship and greater backstory, which is revealed later in the film. The actors are likewise strong at portraying the parts, both in the film's lighter moments and its times of great drama. Teri Polo shines as the film's and the town's voice, almost a narrator sort who is always there in the film's various personal crises and balances out not just the general testosterone, but solidifies the film emotionally, and not just through her role as one of the love interests. Aspen Extreme is perhaps best defined as a "life and times" movie. Skiing is but a backdrop to a couple of character arcs that aren't original, but that will still grab the attention of audiences with a taste for human drama set against a somewhat unique backdrop.

Aspen Extreme Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aspen Extreme features a decent, but relatively unspectacular, 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Mill Creek's Blu-ray does yield fairly vibrant and satisfying colors. The bright winter clothes often offset nicely against the blue sky and white powdery landscape. Detail is average; clothing and facial textures are neither flat nor complex. There's a general steadiness to both the colors and details that give the movie an honest, sometimes even good looking façade. The image does run into a few problems with bright edge halos, random spots and speckles, and a smoothness that's only sometimes evident; the image retains a grain structure elsewhere. Blacks and flesh tones are decent. Overall this is a relatively steady image. The material translates well to high definition. It's certainly not a pristine catalogue title, but fans should be surprised by the stability and boost in clarity and resolution.

Aspen Extreme Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Aspen Extreme skis onto Blu-ray with an underwhelming but adequate DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless soundtrack. It enjoys fairly spacious elements, notably in the various energetic popular tunes that play throughout at high volume and with decent clarity. Atmospherics are likewise best described as "decent." gusty winds, background chatter at the base of the slope, and a few passing cars create a general sensation of ambience, but little more; listeners will never feel immersed into the film's chilly world. Bigger effects, like the steady sound of a spinning helicopter rotor and engine, lack pinpoint clarity but are also presented as more than just a jumble of noise. Dialogue is very clear, focused, an crisp. This is far from a top soundtrack, but it does well enough to get the audience through the movie.

Aspen Extreme Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aspen Extreme contains no supplemental features.

Aspen Extreme Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Aspen Extreme enjoys a good, honest feel to it. It's certainly not all that original, but it also doesn't feel phony or manufactured. The characters are the real draw here; they enjoys believable chemistry, are likable, and are easy to cheer for, even when they make mistakes because they're played well enough for the audience to know that there's a goodness about their hearts that might not always be evident through their actions. Teri Polo is the film's best performer, a steadying influence in the drama and easily-identifiable as the film's heart and soul. Aspen Extreme isn't groundbreaking cinema, but audiences should enjoy it despite something of a generic plot. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Aspen Extreme delivers fair video and audio, but contains no extras. Fans should pick it up, but this is probably best enjoyed by most as a decent rental.