InRO Weekly — Volume 1, Issue 10

FILM REVIEWS
exciting, any hope of the film succeeding lands on its leading
man’s shoulders. But without any other adults to interact with,
the film plays to none of Driver’s strengths, leaving the actor little
to do but react to CGI beasties, fire futuristic weapons, and
over-emote in order to convey basic information to a confused
moppet. Adam, you’re better than this; leave this sort of thing to
one of the Chrises. — ANDREW DIGNAN
DIRECTOR: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods; CAST: Adam Driver, Ariana
Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman; DISTRIBUTOR: Sony Pictures;
RELEASE DATE: March 10; RUNTIME: 1 hr. 33 min.
CHAMPIONS
Bobby Farrelly
Filmmaking duo and brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly have
received more than their fair share of vitriol over the years for
their particular brand of humor, one where no gag was ever
deemed too stomach-churning or offensive if it meant a hearty
laugh from its intended audience. Unsurprisingly, this ushered in
an era of studio comedies that wore their lack of political
correctness as a shiny badge of honor, one that could barely
conceal the hatred that bubbled underneath, even as the
Farrellys themselves rarely engaged in mean-spirited hijinks.
Their hearts were always far too big for that, with the duo going
out of their way to cast persons with physical and developmental
disabilities in both bit parts and featured roles, steadfastly
refusing to ever make them the butt of the joke. Even the
fat-shaming of Shallow Hal ultimately dovetailed with a message
of acceptance above all else, and perhaps that’s why the Farrellys
have been maligned for so long — two guys who both
wanted their cum-covered cake and to eat it, too.
It has been six years since the Brothers Farrelly parted ways.
Peter went the Oscar bait route with Best Picture winner Green
Book — a film far more offensive than anything in the duo’s
arsenal of juvenalia — and Bobby’s finally having his day in the
sun with new inspirational sports comedy Champions, in which a
ragtag group of young adults compete in a regional basketball
tournament for a spot in the Special Olympics. To find Bobby
working in this particular narrative lane isn’t the least bit
shocking, bringing to the foreground he always sought to, well,
champion in previous features. What’s a tad more surprising is
that he had nothing to do with the script itself, which comes
courtesy of first-timer Mark Rizzo, who here adapts the 2018
Spanish-language film of the same name. (And to be brutally
honest, both movies should be crediting the creators of Disney’s
beloved 1992 hit The Mighty Ducks, which Champions copies
beat-for-beat when it comes to plot). Tell me if you’ve heard this
one before: Woody Harrelson stars as Marcus, an arrogant
athletic coach who, after receiving a DUI, is court-ordered to
fulfill his community service by coaching a down-on-their-luck
team in need of some guidance. At first appalled by the position
— a seeming demotion to the NBA-aspiring Marcus if ever there
was one — the selfish bastard soon befriends the eccentric
members of his team and discovers the compassion inside
himself that was long ago buried, falling for one of the player’s
parental units — oops, this time it’s a sister, Alex (Kaitlin Olson) —
in the process. Can he be redeemed by his young charges? Or will
the unrelenting pull of a big-time job in prove his undoing?
So no, Champions doesn’t go anywhere the viewer hasn’t already
traveled a thousand times before, but the same can be said for
most films in this particular genre. It all comes down to the
details, those small wrinkles that can thankfully distract from the
well-worn bigger picture, and it helps immensely that Farrelly
chose to cast actual persons with disabilities as the team’s core
players, lending an authenticity that is sorely lacking from other
films of this ilk. Much like 2008’s similarly themed comedy The
Ringer, Champions paints its protagonists as both no-nonsense
and the most capable people in the room at any given moment,
their zeal and forthrightness a refreshing counterpoint to the
self-absorbed jerk leading the team. It’s of course an obvious
juxtaposition to operate on, but that doesn’t make it any less
effective in execution.
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