Much like a good game of sport, filmmaking is a craft that needs to be executed with deft precision. It’s all about strategy and tactical advantage and, sure, surprise can work well if done right but it tends be about meticulously abiding by the formula; to assess the competition and play to your strengths to – if all goes to plan – snag the win.
Champions (a remake of 2018’s Spanish crowd-pleaser Camepeones) sticks to what it knows and, ultimately, succeeds in surefire entertainment. It’s not going for the flashy plays or the risky tactics; this isn’t a classic rope-a-dope or major league upset. Similar to the plays NBA coach Marcus (Woody Harrelson) employs to try to lead his team to victory, the film takes the tried-and-tested route. After all, if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it. And director Bobby Farrelly – who has cultivated a career in the B-movie out of that very ideology – puts just enough charm and heart into the feel-good sports formula to make this work.
Marcus is a bit of a hothead, you see, and he’s dropped from a minor-league NBA team after a public debacle with their head coach Phil (Ernie Hudson). Reluctantly accepting a community service sentence to avoid charges and imprisonment, he finds himself coaching players with intellectual disabilities. They’re out of shape and out of practice but Marcus is determined to make champions of them and the team quickly proves they’ve got what it takes to get there. Sound familiar? Think Moneyball, The Way Back, Million Dollar Arm, Space Jam – in fact, it’s the central conceit for a string of classic sports films.
The film’s heart lies within its team – fittingly named ‘The Friends’ – and their camaraderie with not only one another but with Harrelson’s has-been coach.
Mark Rizzo’s script is fairly generic – you can comfortably sketch the narrative trajectory from the trailer and you’ll be right on the money. And for the first act, at least, there’s very little going for Champions; the setup is lacklustre, the jokes are forced and the whole thing feels rather tepid and uninspired. However, the film’s heart lies within its team – fittingly named ‘The Friends’ – and their camaraderie with not only one another but with Harrelson’s has-been coach and the whole film pleasantly shifts gear when they enter the fold. It’s not that the script starts taking any risks, mind you, but the focus solely becomes these people and Rizzo’s writing gives these dynamics and relationships a lot of room to breathe. It’s refreshing to see disability representation given such nuance and care and in the mainstream too.
Of course, the staple of any good sports formula is the obsolete, out-of-touch go-getter and he’s played by Harrelson here – and having the time of his time in the role too, it should be said. It’s a charming turn, if one that never over-extends itself, and the arc is done well if a little robustly. But Champions isn’t a film trying to throw a curveball into the crowd; it doesn’t need to. It is what it says on the tin. And sometimes that’s all you need from a film. It may be easy and conceptually minimalist but the formula is a classic for a reason. It’s the kind of comfort film that feels like the warm, familiar hug of an old friend. And how lovely that can be.
Champions is released in cinemas on 10th March.
Champions
Summary
Does exactly what it says on the tin – a film with the kind of comfort film that feels like the warm, familiar hug of an old friend.
