Champions
FOCUS FEATUREAnything that has the words Farrelly on it within the cinematic medium should make audiences worried. Not purely down to controversy that has arisen with Green Book or actions that have come to fruition due to the MeToo era but also within tonal discourse regarding their cinematic craft. Peter and Bobby Farrelly are renowned for comedies; Kingpin and Dumb and Dumber are roaring successes that become genre-defining, Stuck on You and The Three Stooges not so much. Then there is the ground in which they like to play god with tone. These features, such as the produced The Ringer: a feature about a man pretending to have intellectual disabilities in order to be in the Special Olympics. Directorial efforts such as Green Book and The Greatest Ever Beer Run detail racial and homophobic injustice as well as the horrors of the Vietnam War, respectively. Even Shallow Hall details a man's newfound obsession with a plus-sized woman after being hypnotised. It shouldn't come as any surprise that these features are controversial in one way or another, and both brothers have a knack for trying to elevate these social and historical discourses in a framing of advantageous comedic effect with incredible critical pushback.
So, when Champions was announced to be a remake of Javier Fesser's film of the same name about a faded basketball coach who is ordered to undergo community service work with a mentally disabled basketball team, the red flag is almost immediately waved high. That being said, even coming as a shock to the system, but after all the historical controversy and the sheer dread of going into this film, director Bobby Farrelly – after three decades – might just have finally found the sweet spot of tonal discourse. Now, that is in no way to suggest that this feature is a roaring success. Quite the contrary, however. Understanding the history and filmography of the director in question, it is nothing short of puzzling to answer why this time around they might have got it right. First and foremost, any feature that incorporates the words "mentally disabled" and "comedy" should frighten anyone and automatically worry the masses. The line between where that latter word is drawn and if it ever encompasses the former is not only incredibly thin but also incredibly uncomfortable for its audience. Thankfully, for what is the most part – on one viewing – Champions stays clear from that very comfortability and ignorance.
Where it stays clear from controversy is not crafting the feature around the comedic elements such as Dumb and Dumber or Me, Myself and Irene but instead of the plot itself. What this does is creates a more engaging and narrative-driven feature that authentically adds in comedic nature and crafts a more human and authentic dynamic experience. The story follows the humanised version of these characters and not just the singular comedic entity of the cast. This allows brooding issues of morality and self-esteem to be brought into question through the dynamic of character and plot; choices of actions and words having meaning and create emotional torment. Said dynamics are crafted here with the terrific talents of Harrellson and Joshua Felder, who have a compelling back-and-forth – which the feature surprisingly keeps on the back burner for a long duration of the running time, not necessarily an issue per se but it is one moment where the film opens itself up as well as characters to be vulnerable – granted, this specific theme in question is a difficult one but where credit is due, is presented quite poignantly. An equally as important theme is that of independence, of which is crafted more so in a family dynamic with Kaitlin Olson and Kevin Iannucci providing quite the touching motif. The two have terrific chemistry that pulls great engagement for the viewer into a more complex family relationship with enticing layers. Champions gives each character and more importantly performer an element to strut their stuff with actress and actor Madison Tevlin and Bradley Edens two perfect examples of having the opportunity to provide such roaring moments of character and thus the ability to those who presumably write these characters off naively on disability – an element not too different to characters contextually throughout the feature – and provide they do with Tevlin, in particular, stealing multiple scenes with tremendous bravado.
