Champions Movie Review 2023

"Champions": An Inspirational Sports Movie that Fails to See the Humanity of its Disabled Characters

Bobby Farrelly's 2023 film "Champions" follows the basic plot of every other inspirational sports movie, with a disgraced coach in need of redemption coaching a team of Disabled basketball players. However, the film's added cringiness lies in its failure to see the humanity of its characters with intellectual disabilities.

At the beginning of the film, Harrelson's character, Marcus, is arrogant and combative, making it hard for the audience to invest in his journey. Even Alex, Marcus's love interest, is given abysmal lines and minimal characterization. The filmmakers seem to presume that everyone watching the film is new to knowing anything about intellectual disabilities, leading to continual explanations of their existence instead of allowing them to exist as complex human beings.

The film's lack of respect for the humanity of its characters comes at the expense of its dynamic cast, whose star power and comic timing are wasted on pithy one-liners and dated jokes. While each character is given an arc, it is mostly in relation to their goal of making it to the Special Olympics North American Regional Championship. The film fails to spend any real time with these characters as they live their lives, reducing them to teaching tools for Marcus and the audience.

Once the team does qualify for the championship, they are predictably behind at halftime, and Marcus delivers the requisite inspirational locker room speech. However, the speech further otherizes the team, reducing them to tokens, despite the film's good intentions.

In the end, "Champions" is a disappointing film that fails to see the humanity of its Disabled characters. The filmmakers need to offer the same grace to the Friends and see their whole humanity, just as lead coach Phil advises Marcus at the beginning of the film. "Champions" will be available only in theaters on March 10th

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"Champions": A Comedy That Falls Short in Its Portrayal of Disability

Woody Harrelson stars in the upcoming comedy "Champions," directed by Robert Farrelly and written by Mark Rizzo. The film follows the story of a former minor-league basketball coach, Marcus, who is sentenced to 90 days of community service coaching a team of players with intellectual disabilities. Despite its good intentions, the film ultimately falls short in its portrayal of disability, reducing its cast of disabled basketball players to mere teaching tools for its main character's redemption arc.

At the film's beginning, Marcus is an arrogant and combative character that is difficult to root for, even with the signature charm that Harrelson brings to every role he plays. The film follows the basic plot of every other inspirational sports movie about a hangdog coach in need of redemption, but it has the added cringiness of using its team of disabled basketball players solely as a method towards this redemption, while completely failing to see their humanity.

The script gives plenty of screentime to the burgeoning relationship between Marcus and his love interest Alex, played by Kaitlin Olson, while the dynamic cast playing the Friends--Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Casey Metcalfe, and Bradley Edens--whose star power, charisma, and comic timing is wasted in pithy one-liners and dated jokes. While each character is given an arc, they are mostly in relation to their goal of making it to the Special Olympics North American Regional Championship.

The film's main presumption is that everyone watching it is new to knowing anything about intellectual disabilities, and therefore it's continually explaining their existence rather than allowing them to exist. The rec center manager Julio, played by Cheech Marin, tells Marcus about the personal lives of the team, but the filmmakers never actually bother to spend any time with these characters as they live their lives. Instead, they show the audience their lives from an almost anthropological distance. The filmmakers see them solely as teaching tools for Marcus and the audience, not complex human beings worth spending real time with.

Once the team qualifies for the championship in Winnipeg, they are, of course, behind leading up to halftime, with Marcus giving the requisite inspirational locker room speech. The result is perhaps the most cringe-worthy part of the entire film, as Marcus lets them know they're already champions because of all the "stuff they put up with from ignorant people every day," further othering this scrappy crew into tokens, despite the film's good intentions.

Despite its flaws, "Champions" is not without its redeeming qualities. Harrelson and Olson's performances, as well as the comic timing of the Friends, provide some moments of genuine humor and heart. However, the film's lack of respect for the humanity of its disabled characters ultimately undercuts its efforts to be an inspiring story of redemption and teamwork.

In conclusion, "Champions" may be a hilarious and heartwarming story, but it falls short in its portrayal of disability. It reduces its disabled cast to mere teaching tools, failing to see them as complex human beings worth spending real time with. While it has its redeeming qualities, the film ultimately misses the mark in its efforts to be an inspiring story of redemption and teamwork.