Go Figure (film)

Plot

A talented young teenage figure skater named Katelin Kingsford dreams of being a champion. During one of her competitions, she is discovered by a famous Russian skating coach, Natasha Goberman. However, Natasha coaches at an expensive boarding school and Katelins parents cannot afford to send her there. However, Natasha convinces the girls hockey team coach to give the last hockey scholarship to Katelin so she can train with Natasha. Katelin is overjoyed and excited to be taught by Natasha but quickly learns that juggling hockey practice, skate club practice, and her homework is much harder than she imagined. A student assistant coach for the hockey team named Spencer constantly ridicules her, and her fellow skaters in the figure skating club are just as rude. Katelin is also forced to hide all of her precious figure skating related belongings, as the hockey coach warns her that the girls on the hockey team despise "twirl girls". However, Katelin does find some solace in her roommate, Hollywood Henderson, a fellow hockey player. She finds out that Katelin is a figure skater, but promises not to tell anyone.

Katelin faces multiple obstacles from her new life. Pamela, a figure skater crazily jealous of Katelins skill and Natashas obvious liking towards her, locks her in the janitors closet during a party and sets a trap for Katelin that dumps a can of purple paint on her. Because of this, Katelin loses a private training session with one of her idols, Kristi Yamaguchi, to Pamela, causing Natasha to feel great disappointment towards Katelin. Her teammates on the hockey team turn on her after their first game, when Katelin did not block for the team captain and caused her to be tackled by the opposing team. Katelin works hard to improve, but she feels overwhelmed several times and feels like quitting.

Katelin begins flunking her schoolwork as well and combined with the hostility of the hockey team, the stress gets to her and she gets on a bus home. When she arrives at her house, she finds that her parents have packed up all of her things in boxes. Feeling unwanted, Katelin grabs a box of her ice skating things and runs out of the house. As she sits on a bench and rummages through her belongings, she finds that her mother was a "twirl girl" as well when she sees a picture of her mother on the ice and prizes from various competitions in the box. After talking with her mother, Katelin decides that shes not going to quit no matter how hard things may seem, and she goes back to school.

A great changes occurs in Katelin. She pushes herself harder now to do her best in everything, including hockey. She is the first to arrive for practice and she improves greatly. Katelin spends a lot of time studying and her grades improve drastically. She spends hours practicing both hockey and her figure skating alone. Spencer, who overheard a conversation between Natasha and the hockey coach, knows that Katelin is a figure skater and admires her even more for it due to her drastic improvement. In their first game of the season, Katelins practice pays off when she helps her team win. With Katelin, the girls hockey team is suddenly on a winning streak. She starts to teach the hockey team about balancing with ballet, and uses her brothers ice hockey tactics to improve their teams performance, bringing the team to the finals for the first time in 7 years.

Later on, when the coach announces the date of the finals, Katelin realizes that it is also the same day as the Senior Nationals, an event that scouts for potential Olympic figure skaters. She is extremely confused and has no idea what she should do. Spencer, Hollywood, and Natasha all push her to go the Nationals, as Hollywood insists that Katelin wont be able to skate in the Olympics if she doesnt go to the competition. However, Katelin still feels conflicted, as she feels that she will be letting down her teammates on the hockey team. In the end, Katelin shows up at the hockey game, much to Spencers disbelief. They lose the finals by one goal, but the team is far from disappointed, saying that they were happy to have made it into the finals and that they will have another chance next season.

Spencer gathers all of Katelins figure skating equipment and takes her to the competition, but her suitcase falls open in front of the hockey team before they can make it out and they see all of her stuffed animals and dresses. Katelin runs away in embarrassment. In the car, Spencer gives her the dress. "Its perfect." Katelin exclaims before kissing Spencer on the cheek. In Spencers car, Katelin is getting ready but realizes that one of her skates is missing, and that it must have fallen out and in her hurry, she forget to pick it up. She tells Natasha that she will skate in her hockey skates instead, but that fails when she falls right in the beginning of her routine. However, the entire hockey team arrives with her missing skate. Natasha tries to get the judges to let her restart, but when they refuse, the hockey team starts a chant of "Let her skate!" that soon echoes throughout the entire stadium. The judges relent and allow Katelin another chance to perform, and she does a wonderful job of her routine. The hockey team rushes forward at the end of her performance and hoists her onto her shoulders, and Spencer gives Katelin a large bouquet of flowers. The judges announce that Katelin has made it into the US Olympic team, and the movie ends with Katelin waving and smiling.

Cast

Cameo

In Go Figure there was only one cameo appearance. This was made by Winter Olympics Gold medal winner Kristi Yamaguchi. She trains the Figure skaters when Katelin is tricked into going to get some more cups for the party. She is covered in paint after she gets locked in the janitors closet, arriving too late to train with Kristi.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was released on June 7, 2005 in the United States. It peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio.

1. Everlife - Go Figure – 4:08
2. Bowling for Soup - Greatest Day – 3:13
3. Caleigh Peters - I Can Do Anything – 3:42
4. Brie Larson - She Said – 3:44
5. Hope 7 - I Want Everything – 2:54
6. Superchic(k) - Anthem – 2:51
7. Raven-Symone - Life Is Beautiful – 3:16
8. Cadence Grace - Crash Goes My World – 3:03
9. Junk - Life Is Good – 3:10

Awards

Go Figure was nominated in the Young Artist Awards for Best Television Movie or Special.