This movie comes only one year after "Flashdance". I cannot forget the moments I spend in the movie theater back then (I was a teen). Just saw this movie again and it sparks the same feelings inside me and I still love it.
First of all, I do not agree this movie is a drama. It does have a happy end and it is a pure sport movie with a little love story and a pinch of "villains" (a tiny little pinch, just as much black pepper one would put on his lunch). I know some people would suggest this is a dance movie a-la "Flashdance", but really - while it bears some resemblance, "Heavenly Bodies" is a pure sport movie.
This movie reflects on 100% the aerobic fitness mania of the 80s. I know few countries, where this movie got nearly a cult status. Why? Because while "Flashdance" was all about the dance and by accident helped to popularize the breakdancing, "Heavenly Bodies" is all about the aerobic gym classes and a competition. That's it. Nothing more or less.
Sport, ambition, competition and winning - this is all about the movie in four words, all wrapped up with the story of a single working young mother and her ambition to dance, which turned to aerobic mania and a little love from a local football star. We add the ambition to escape the 9-to-5 office life and the desire to get your own business and make it run. And in the end - they lived happily ever after. However all this is packaged with nice views from Toronto, Canada, nice young Canadian legs and butts, lots of hair in 80s style and a great soundtrack, while the competition keeps you on your toes, while you wait to see the winner.
Yes, the competition is the best in this movie. Well done, suspenseful, not that you don't suspect who's gonna win, but it still manages to make you doubt it in few moments and keeping you on your toes all the time. The main character was hurt the previous day, but still manages to go trough "the wall", as the runners call it - the initial limit of the human energy, which once broken unlocks additional energy potential, in this case fueled by the main character's dream of having and keeping her own business.
That's it. All I can say is, back when the movie was released, where I am from this movie had much more impact, than "Flashdance" and to this day it is better perceived as a good sport movie and a movie to value ambition and a good-looking body, along with the great songs it comes with. This is a movie I can watch for much more time.
I recommend this movie.
