Ice Castles

Alexis "Lexie" Winston (Lynn-Holly Johnson) is a sixteen-year-old girl from Waverly, Iowa, who dreams of becoming a champion figure skater. Her boyfriend, Nick Peterson (Robbie Benson), dreams of being a hockey player. Coached by family friend and former skater Beulah Smith (Colleen Dewhurst), Lexie enters a regional championship over her father's protests. There she is discovered by an elite coach (Jennifer Warren) who sees her potential despite a lack of training and a relatively advanced age for figure skaters. Over her father's objections, Lexie moved from her home in Waverly, Iowa to train at the legendary Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She becomes unpopular with the other female figure skaters in training because of the attention lavished on her natural talent and the media attention her coach obtains for her in an effort to make her known to the skating world. Lexie proves and enhances her skating abilities and qualifies for the senior championship level, her life changing drastically in the process. She becomes a star, alienates her boyfriend and begins dating an older man, television broadcaster Brian Dockett (David Huffman), following her training. Becoming uncomfortable with the direction her life is taking, Lexie leaves a party for skating sponsors and goes down to the outdoor rink nearby to skate. Her coach and the partygoers notice her and are watching through the windows as Lexie skates. She attempts a difficult triple jump, but lands off the ice onto a set of tables and chairs that are chained together near the edge of the rink. Lexie suffers a serious head injury, with a blood clot in her brain robbing her of her eyesight and leaving her able to see only lights and blurry shapes. The doctor is uncertain in case her injury will be permanent. Abandoned by all her fairweather friends, Lexie goes home and becomes a recluse. Resenting her affair with Brian, Nick demands that she get out of the house and back on the ice. Despite their mutual resentment and Lexie's depression, they work through their estrangement and rediscover their love for each other. With help from Nick, her father Marcus (Tom Skerritt) and Beulah, Lexie begins to believe she can still fulfill her dreams. Though virtually blind, she can still see the boards at the edge of the rink, and so learns how to skate around her disability. Lexie enrolls in the sectional championship and competes once again. She presents a flawless, beautiful program that provokes an enthusiastic standing ovation from the crowd. However, her disability is revealed when she trips over the roses, thrown onto the ice by adoring fans after her performance, and falls to the ice. Nick rushes to her side and says, "We forgot about the flowers," as the crowd realizes that Lexie has not recovered from her injuries but has risen above them.