"The Bronze" (2016 release; 108 min.) brings the story of Hope Ann Greggory. As the movie opens, we see footage of her at a young age trying to do cartwheels and other gymnastic related things. It's not long before we see her competing at the 2004 Rome Olympics, where, at age 17 and despite a severe foot injury, she manages, very much Kerri Strug-like in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, to complete her final landing to salvage a bronze medal and instantly becoming America's sweetheart, most of all to her home town of Amherst, Ohio. Now, 12 years later, Hope has become an insufferable woman, obsessed with her moment of glory. But then, she gets an opportunity to coach up-and-coming gymnast Maggie Townsend, also from Amherst. At this point we're 15 min. into the movie, but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: while directed by Bryan Buckley and this is a Duplass Brothers Production, this is a Melissa Rauch movie all the way. Best known for her long-running role on TV's The Big Bang Theory. she stars as Hope, and she co-wrote the scripts (with her husband Winston Rauch). Almost from the get-go, the Hope character is so unlikeable, self-absorbed and rude that it frankly affects the way one can enjoy the movie. "I'm not a coach, I'm a star, I was in Dancing with the Stars, not Dancing with the Coaches!", Hope yells at her dad when the idea of her coaching initially comes up. What really surprised me what how raunchy the movie turned out to be. There is almost non-stop cussing and crude language. It's a shame that the movie isn't nearly as funny as it is raunchy. I will admit that there is one sex scene that is quite hilarious. It seems to me this movie is one big missed opportunity. You can see the potential, but it rarely materializes. There is some great song placements in the movie, including Britney Spears' "Work B**ch", Ace of Base, and others. And check out the song that plays over the movie's end titles, performed by Melissa Rauch herself and at her raunchiest yet...
You may have heard that "The Bronze", which opened wide (defined as over 1,000 screens) last weekend, completely bombed at the box office, and then some. It was one of the worst openings EVER for a wide release, and it's easy to see why. I had seen the trailer and was intrigued. The weekday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati turned out to be a private screening: I was literally the only person in the theater. I must say that the potential shown in the trailer never materialized in the movie itself. A darn shame.
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