Bobby Farrelly goes it alone with this warm but cliched remake of a Spanish language film, in which Woody Harrelson plays a temperamental basketball coach.
Brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly made their names creating comedies that largely served to poke fun at otherness. People with intellectual disabilities (The Dumb and Dumber franchise), fat people (Shallow Hal), the mentally ill (Me, Myself and Irene) – no one was safe from their juvenile, of-its-era mockery, until something shifted and they decided to strike out alone.
The separation of the Farrellys brought older bro Pete a shiny Best Picture Oscar for Green Book in 2018; not to be outdone, Bobby’s here now, with his own story of a curmudgeon whose worldview is changed after he has to work with a group of people he previously dismissed as beneath him. Based on Javier Fesser’s 2018 Spanish film of the same name, it’s familiar territory too – a sports comedy which might not mean much if you’re not into the NBA.
Marcus (Woody Harrelson) is a basketball coach working for a minor league team, whose career has stalled due to his volatile temper and refusal to play nice with others. Although he insists he’s on his way back to the NBA, there’s no solid evidence to support the statement, and he’s fired from his assistant coaching gig after assaulting his colleague Phil (Ernie Hudson) in the middle of a game.
After getting into a fender bender while drowning his sorrows, Marcus is sentenced to community service. He’s put in charge of coaching a local basketball team for players with disabilities, which he immediately takes umbrage with, dismissing them with a slur when the judge hands down his sentence. But in a classic case of ‘Actually, the kids are the ones teaching me’, Marcus is about to discover his new pupils have a lot to show him about the world.
To the film’s credit, the cast of basketball players consists of actors with real life disabilities (a modicum of progress in 2023!) and places an emphasis on busting stereotypes and myths about disabled people by showing their community and lives. Sadly it still feels novel to see a film in which disabled characters are shown as having romantic relationships, jobs, and hobbies – but this is an indication of how slow cinema is to represent the experience of people with disabilities, rather than Champions itself being an exceptional film.
Harrelson gives a fairly rote performance as the grumpy coach who has a lot to learn about compassion and being part of a team, while Kaitlin Olson (a gifted comedian and actor) is underutilised as his spiky love interest. The standout, in fact, is Madison Tevlin, who plays Consentino – a basketball player with Down’s Syndrome who sees right through Marcus’s tough guy act and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. It’s a shame there’s so much emphasis on Harrelson’s character, when the supporting cast is rich with charming performances that are much more interesting than his familiar one.
Undoubtedly the film means well, but its cliche, entirely predictable plot and uninspired message mean there’s not much to take away – it feels like a relic from a bygone era, and given Farrelly’s previous form, all feels a little insincere.
Little White Lies is committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them.
Published 9 Mar 2023
One of those 'the trailer says it all' films...
Never a good thing when the supporting cast outshine the lead.
Perfectly forgettable sports comedy fare.
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