Ice Princess

17-year-old physics whiz Casey Carlyle is urged by her physics teacher to work on a physics project over the summer for presentation to Harvard. As a skater, Casey decides on a project that shows the elements of physics applied in competitive figure skating. To start, she visits a skating club run by former professional skater Tina Harwood. Casey eventually finds that in order to better understand the principles she's using, she will have to become her own test subject, and joins the skating school. The more she gets involved, the more she falls in love with figure skating....and must ultimately make a choice; Will it be Harvard -- which her mother and Casey have both dreamed of, or will it be her new dream -- as a competitive figure skater?

Not to be confused with Winter Royal Lady or the book by Camilla Lackberg.

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Tropes used in Ice Princess include:

• And Starring: Michelle Trachtenberg (although she's actually billed above the title). See also Billing Displacement.
• Awesomeness By Analysis: Casey is a math and physics nerd who applied her skills to become a figure skater. She soon becomes a competitor in the U.S. Nationals.
• Beautiful All Along: Casey at the party that Gen takes her to.
• Billing Displacement: Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays Casey - you know, the main character - is billed below Joan Cusack (who for some reason gets top billing) and Kim Cattrall.
• The Cameo: Michelle Kwan and Brian Boitano show up as commentators at sectionals.
• The Cast Showoff: The last song over the end credits is performed by Hayden Panettiere (Gen). Both she and Michelle Trachtenberg also do a lot (though not all) of their own skating.
  • Also, the actresses who played Nikki, Zoe, and Tiffany are all actual skaters.
• Dawson Casting: Averted by Michelle Trachtenberg (18 at the time of filming) and Hayden Panettiere (15).
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Everyone admires Gen Harwood because she shines on the rink and at school.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Nikki the Jumping Shrimp. Subverted in that she is the only person who doesn't seem to think it's embarrassing.
• Face Heel Turn: Tina.
• Girl Next Door: Casey
• Hannibal Lecture: Tina gives one to Casey's mom when she tries to call her on her Face Heel Turn
• Hey It's That Gal!: Dawn Summers is the nerd who wants to be a skater, Jessie the cowgirl is her mother, Claire Bennet is the figure skater who wants to have a normal life and does, and Samanatha Jones is her mother.
• Jackie Robinson Story: Subverted because the protagonist is the same age, sex, and ethnicity as the other young figure skaters she wants to compete with, yet is hassled for this ambition — even by her own mom — because she's a science geek.
• Jerkass: Zoe Block, although she is the one to clue Casey in about the trick Tina pulled on her
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Tina
• Kick the Dog: Tina purposely buys Casey a new pair of skates (Casey, being a novice, not knowing she needed to break into the new skates first) during a skating competition so that Casey would fall and injure her feet.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch: Gen comes off as an inconsiderate party girl at first, but later turns out to be a good friend and guide to Casey. Notably, Gen seems quite disgusted by Tina's Kick the Dog moment below, even though Tina was doing it for her.
• Mama Bear: Casey's mom Joan, while not approving of her daughter's decision to skate, angrily calls out Tina for the above Kick the Dog moment.
• My Beloved Smother: Both Casey and Gennifer's moms are forcing their own ambitions and dreams to their daughters.
• Serious Business: Ice skating, for the skaters themselves (particularly Nikki) and doubly so for their parents
• Shaking Her Hair Loose: Gen takes Casey to a party without telling her where they were going. Gen tells her that it's okay that she's not dressed for a party as long as she shakes it.
• Somewhere A Figure Skater Is Crying: The many inconsistencies in this movie (being able to pass two levels in one go, reaching Nationals after a year of skating, etc.) make many a skater wince. This troper is a figure skater, and she hates whenever anyone assumes Figure Skating is anything at all like Ice Princess. The plot itself is enjoyable, but the mistakes are nearly intolerable.
• Spell My Name with an "S": Gen is spelled with a "G".
• Technician Versus Performer: Gen and Casey. Gen eventually quits because she doesn't have the same passion as her mom, she sacrificed her personal life and neglected stuff from school that actually matter like math.