Watching Every Disney Channel Original Movie: Brink! (1998)

Am I doing nothing with my time except watching Disney films? Yes, pretty much.

Brink! is about Andy ‘Brink’ Brinker (played by Erik von Detten, or as I called him throughout the whole film in my head ‘Josh Bryant from Princess Diaries!!) who is really good at skating (with roller-skates, my idiot brain thought this was a movie about skateboarding and was really confused for the first ten minutes) on a team with his best friends, it is all good and wholesome. From the promotional photo on Disney+ I thought he was going to be the sullen, moody skater-type but NO Brink is honest-to-God chaotic good and it was very refreshing. Josh Bryant from Princess Diaries has truly nailed the ‘I’m not sure whats happening but I’m having a great time’ face in this film. That is until his Dad might not be able to get his job back after a serious injury and his family are facing some pretty bad money problems, so Brink joins his friend groups’ rivals, a sponsored skate team, which I learned are basically the skate-based instagram influencers of the 90’s, for $200 a week.

I wish I had watched this film when I was younger, because I would have for sure had a huge crush on Brink and been super invested in this film, instead I was basically the Dad who mainly went about going ‘MORE SKATING???’ until he gave a very impassioned Dad speech that had nothing to do with his son’s struggles but seemed to do the job. I know I’m old now, because my first thought watching all the terrifying stunts and tricks was ‘well at least they’re all wearing the proper protective equipment’. It was a much more solid, put-together film than You Lucky Dog, but strangely a lot less captivating. Probably because SO much of it was skating tricks and I am too anxious to watch these young people injure themselves like that!

One thing Brink! did have was a great villain in Val, the leader of the sponsored skate team, he was an utter and complete dickhead. A sensational dickhead. Like, I know he’s a teenager but I would still probably punch him in the face given the chance, and that is definitely a point in it’s favour.

Most importantly, I learned a valuable lesson: whatever happens, whatever financial situation your family is in, do not get paid $200 a week to skate for a sponsored team because skating should be about FUN. Selling-out is the worst possible thing you can do, lose your house, starve your family, but you better only be skating for fun!!