The opening starts with a forest fire and reporters. Brooke Burns (no pun intended) plays a fire fighter, whose dad is the captain. As always the reporters covering the job can't walk and chew gum at the same time. One passes out from smoke inhalation while another falls down and breaks his leg. Firemen get separated in the woods and can't contact each other because they don't have radios for Rawlings company #1 in Idaho.
Dad is due to retire. He stayed a firefighter and extra year just for Kristin (Brooke) and goes to work his last day instead of staying home, invoking the wrath of the bad luck fire god. They get a call and him and Kristen enter a burning home to rescue a boy. Kristen saves the boy, but dad, who got hit by a falling beam, is still in the house! She attempts to go back into the home, but is prevented by fellow fire fighters who also don't have a back-up team. Kristen is blamed for her father's death by her fellow fire fighters and even her own sister. Mom, a 21st century version of June Cleaver, is supportive of her. So during her suspension she tries out for the "Smoke Jumpers" the SEALS 6 of fire fighters. She finds out she doesn't meet the weight requirement and must put on weight to join, apparently living in a world with no fast food chains. Kristin completes the smoke jumper boot camp and makes the team.
The smoke jumpers enter the plane walking in slow motion with swagger music that makes them look like astronauts. Her sister and family decide to go camping in the woods, a group of seasoned smoke jumpers burn up in a blaze, Rawlings #1 is called to the scene and rookie smoke jumper Bambi Kristen is on the job.....and you know the rest. The acting was somewhere between an after school special and a bad soap opera. When the main problem becomes firemen having to rescue fireman then someone is not doing their job. It made my stomach hurt.
Plot summary
Following in her father Captain Hank Scott's footsteps, Kristin Scott is a member of the Rawlings, Idaho Fire Department. Hank delayed his retirement by one year so that he could nurture his daughter's skills on the job. Despite Hank being highly respected within the department, Kristin slyly does not receive the same treatment, solely because she is a woman, the only female in the department. Her gender is an issue most specifically with Trip Crandall, who will take over Hank's job following his retirement. On what is his last day of work on what would probably have been his last call regardless, Hank perishes in a house fire. Despite Kristin managing to save a child's life in that fire, many blame her for Hank's death solely because she was in the house with him. As it is standard protocol, Kristin is placed on two weeks administrative leave pending an investigation into Hank's death. A further incident with Trip leads to an additional six week unpaid suspension. To prove to the male dominated firefighting world that she has what it takes to make it in the profession, Kristin knows she has to be better than the best, which is why she, during her eight week down time, decides to apply and train to become a smoke jumper, known to be the most demanding and dangerous job within the profession, and one where Trip never made it. She gets as rough a ride through that process, from among others Ray Kulhanek, one of the smoke jumpers, who nonetheless is attracted to her, and from the system itself which she believes discriminates against women. Through the process, Kristin will face what may be collectively the most life threatening situation of her so far short career, which may have an abrupt end if she can't save people in harm's way and if she herself doesn't make it out alive.
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PASS THE PEPCID PLEASE
Trial By Fire is "Flamingly" Good ***
While the film trivializes jumping out of planes to combat fires, it's an interesting one with a heartwarming story to support it.
Blamed for her father's death by fire, as he is about to retire, Kristin, his daughter and fire-lady decides to go for fire jumping. The film adequately shows the rigors involved what the applicants have to go through when applying for such a position.
The problem is that the film becomes Hollywood-oriented when an emergency arises, and Kristin is immediately put to the test. This is Hollywood, what do you expect?
Basically, the film is a good one as it shows the sibling rivalry between daughters of the deceased fire fighter and the fact that the daughter applied her knowledge learned during the "brief" learning period as well as what her father taught her. Naturally, there is sexism involved as the firemen in both jumpers and regular fire fighters resented a woman among them.
I Actually Liked It
I actually liked this movie. Not all of the actors were wonderful but it's a low budget film, I've seen worse. It's one of those overcoming-obstacles films where you root for the girl to show them what she's made of. The lead woman (Brook Burns) is pretty good, she's a genuine tough-girl without being fake or overdoing it and works out the sometimes lagging script to get the story done. I liked how the film seemed to make the most of their action sequences; with airplanes and skydivers, and their creative effects with the fires despite an obviously limited budget to make it more realistic. They used a low-key romance without going overboard into the mushy stuff, for once this wasn't merely an attempt to sell a film based on sex-appeal. It reminded me of GI Jane in that Kristen Scott (Burns) never gives up on her dream to be a smoke-jumper despite overwhelming obstacles and the disapproval of her friends and family. It's a good movie for those who like to be inspired by a female lead that is believable as a contender for a job such as a smoke-jumper. I would like to see more films like this in the future.