Tumbling to the Top
Having once been a talented gymnast herself, Kate (Nina Pearce) now helps train young children in the basics of the sport. But when the head coach suddenly falls ill she finds herself reluctantly taking over a higher level group who are preparing for competition. And Kate can see that these young girls have plenty of talent so she sets about refining them whilst getting some help from fellow coach, Shane (Adam Tuominen). But Kate's hope of leading the young girls to success in the Australian Nationals gymnastics competition rests on Sally Peterson (Amy Handley), one of the judges and a former friend who sadly now holds a grudge against Kate for some thing which happened years ago when they use to train and compete together.
"A 2nd Chance" is one of those Australian movies which remind me of the Australian movies which would be shown on UK TV during the summer holidays back in the 80s, with a wholesome family nature about them but lacking in the production values to make it sparkle, so to speak. It means that there are times when the acting is lacking, the dialogue is clunky and the scenes just don't quite flow with some times the training and competing montages ending up coming across like filler. And as such there is a good chance that some children might find it all a bit too amateurish when it comes to all the various parts of the movie.
In truth when it comes to the story side of "A 2nd Chance" I think this has a best before date, as in you best be under a certain age to really get the most out of it. I say that because it is one of those movies which is built on some familiar aspects; we have rivalry between children, bullying, semi romantic friendships as well as old situations causing issues now when it comes to Kate and Sally. It means as I watched "A 2nd Chance" as an adult the whole thing felt too familiar. Yet I know that for the right child, maybe someone watching because they aspire to be a gymnast, will probably gain some thing from the whole rivalry and succeeding over adversity parts of the movie, it certainly has some positive themes and dialogue.
What this all boils down to is that "A 2nd Chance" is one of those family friendly movies which I have to be honest has limited appeal. But with it having a set audience it has the ability to entertain if the right child came along to watch it and encourage them to reach for the top and not care what others think, in fact it has some very cute scenes.
