Reel Review Roundup

Champions (M)

Directed by: Bobby Farrelly

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Cheech Marin

Review by: Julian Wright

Bobby “There’s Something About Mary” Farrelly has come a long way from his bombastic, gross-out comedy days, but it is unclear if his new path is a wise one.

After a physical altercation with a colleague, bachelor and basketball coach Marcus (Woody Harrelson) is court ordered to to manage a team of young players with intellectual disabilities for 90 days.

We don’t even need to drop another line of the plot because we all know how this is going to turn out.

There are certainly no surprises, plot-wise, Champions coasts solely on the charm of its performers.

Harrelson is still a playful presence who bonds nicely with this cats mates, but it is Olson, as his love interest, and Madison Tevlin, as the only female on the team, who stand out as sassy, modern, independent women among men.

Going into this unaware that it is a remake of the Spanish film Campeones, there is already a heavy sense of deja vu about the proceedings.

While it is lovely to see people with intellectual disabilities portrayed in such a positive light, Farrelly is so afraid to offend or ruffle any feathers, that this “comedy” tends to forget to make any gags, making it one of his safest film to date.

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