One in a Million: More Ice Than Substance

Is it worth your time?

If you're into 1930s musical-comedy fluff or have a weird obsession with Olympic figure skating history, you'll probably get a kick out of this. If you need a movie to actually have a coherent story or stakes that feel real, you’ll be bored to tears within twenty minutes.

It’s basically a showreel for Sonja Henie, and the plot is just something they shoved in the gaps between her performances. ⛸️

The Skating Stuff

Look, when Henie is on the ice, the movie wakes up. She’s undeniably great at what she does, and the way the cameras follow her feels like they were trying to invent a new language for shooting sports.

But then she stops skating, and Adolphe Menjou has to do all the heavy lifting with dialogue that feels like it was written on the back of a napkin. There’s a lot of running around Madison Square Garden that feels very beige, if that makes sense.

Odd Little Details

• The presence of Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals is just... bizarre. It feels like they were dropped into the middle of the movie from an entirely different dimension.
• The Ritz Brothers pop up and their energy is so chaotic compared to the rest of the film, it’s like watching a different genre entirely.
• The dialogue is so fast and snappy it’s like they’re trying to run away from the script.

There's this one moment where they try to manufacture some romantic tension between Henie and Don Ameche that just doesn't land. It feels like two people who were told they had to kiss for the paycheck and decided to get it over with as quickly as possible. 🙄

Final Thoughts

I found myself comparing it to the lighthearted feel of Three Cornered Moon, but with way more ice and way less personality. It’s not trying to be high art, which is fine, but it’s so thin it almost vanishes while you’re watching it.

It’s fine for a rainy Sunday if you just want something pretty to look at. Just don't ask it any difficult questions about the plot.