Champions – A Heartwarming Predictable Sports Comedy

It’s so nice seeing smaller films like Champions make a comeback in the theatrical marketplace and perform pretty well at the box office once again when not too long ago, it looked like those types of films were on the verge of going extinct or at least slowly dying off. The film follows the hot tempered but skilled Marcus Marokovich (Harrelson), the assistant coach of a minor league basketball team in Iowa. After he lets his temper get the best of him in the middle of a game, Marcus shoved his friend/head coach of the team Phil (Hudson) before leaving the stadium and hit a police vehicle while driving his car intoxicated shortly after. As a result, he was fired and then ordered by the court to coach a team of players with intellectual disabilities or face 18 months in prison. Initially reluctant, Marcus soon realizes that despite his initial doubts about his new team, he learns a thing or two about himself a long the way.

The things is the audiences will more than likely be able to guess every single direction the plot of Champions goes based on the premise alone. The film is about as predictable as an underdog sports comedy can get while offering absolutely zero surprises or plot revelations that one can’t already see coming from a mile away. It also runs way longer than it needs to and for some reason clocks in at over 2-hours long despite it following the exact same formula as most sports films do. There are quite a few scenes that could’ve easily been cut out and serve absolutely zero purpose to the main story or are only there to deliver a few laughs. The romance subplot between Harrelson and Olsen (as Alex) is fine enough but it takes up too much screentime and took too much of the focus despite how well they work together and the latter’s place in the story. The final package is every bit as clichéd, derivative, and generic as one would expect from the trailers, but at the same time, it’s still a heartwarming and feel-good crowd pleaser that’s very hard not to fall for by mainly due to the excellent cast.

The handling of the film’s premise was a cause for concern given the trailers and director Bobby Farrelly aka half of The Farrelly Brothers, but thankfully the premise never once comes off as offensive or mean spirited as it easily could have. In fact, it is perfectly harmless and very respectable watch that honestly plays things a little to safe if anything at all. Harrelson is perfect for this kind of role and delivers another solid performance. He’s very funny and charismatic while his younger co-stars are all terrific and have great chemistry together. It really is the wonderful performances from the team that makes the film as enjoyable as it is, and each member of the cast is given multiple moments to shine. Olsen is great as always and works well with Harrelson, while Cheech Marin and Ernie Hudson turn in fun supporting performances too.

Like with any comedy, not every joke works and some can completely fall flat. Champions very much suffers from this but even though some jokes don’t land at all, there are still some big laughs to be found throughout. The humor is a lot more consistent than one would initially expect which only makes sense due to Farrelly’s past history with comedies. The film is far from great and isn’t something audiences need to rush out and see right away but it is still a perfectly harmless and breezy watch in its own right.

Although it’s nice to see a smaller film like Champions make it to the big screen, it’s better suited for streaming and for those who have any interest in it, it makes a fine rental. While it is far from perfect, its big heart and uplifting message will be more than enough to win most audiences over.

still courtesy of Focus Features

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/