Climb Against the Odds

In the late spring of 1998, twelve women (five of whom were breast cancer survivors) prepared to scale Alaska's Mt. McKinley (20,320 ft.), the highest peak in North America. The connection? According to one interviewee in writer/director Karen Carlson's chronicle of the expedition: whether overcoming cancer or climbing a mountain, you take one step at a time (and if that sounds a little Hallmark-y, well, such is life--as the greeting card magnate well knows). Narrated by Olympia Dukakis, and boasting a soundtrack which includes cuts by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Paula Cole, Indigo Girls, k.d. lang, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and others, Climb Against the Odds combines interviews with the women climbers regarding breast cancer, raising awareness, and the rigors of scaling a mountain, together with a video diary of the ascent. Ultimately more well-meaning than well-made (some viewers will be disappointed by the way the film dribbles to a decidedly non-dramatic conclusion), this is still recommended for its inspirational and occasionally heartbreaking portrait of women battling a deadly disease and for the fact that a portion of the proceeds from video sales go to The Breast Cancer Fund, a non-profit organization devoted to eliminating breast cancer. Also, despite the blockbuster name soundtrack, the real musical highlight is when a mostly non-English speaking mountain guide with a guitar is joined by the women in a rousing rendition of The Pointer Sisters' "Fire." That moment of party-on-the-mountain camaraderie alone is, I think, worth the $19.95. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)