A former minor-league basketball coach is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined.
Mark Rizzo, Javier Fesser, David Marqués
Champions is simultaneously as by the numbers as a sports drama can be and one of the most progressive comedies of recent years.
Woody Harrelson is the sports movie staple, a coach (in this case basketball) who knows everything about the game but nothing about relating to people. As a result his career has been marred by a series of bust ups and the movie begins with him losing his latest job. After drowning his sorrows in a bar he crashes his car and is forced to teach a special needs basketball team as community service. You know the drill from there. He teaches them the game, they teach him about life. They run into problems exactly when you expect them to and overcome them with teamwork. There is a romance running parallel to proceedings and eventually the coach must weigh everything he has gained against his previously all encompassing career goals.
Where Champions sets itself apart is in its cast of disabled actors. Casting real people with disabilities as the team adds an instant likability to proceedings and makes it clear you are always laughing at their comedy and not the disabilities. It helps that every member of the cast is great and some of the performances deserve to be break out roles.
It also helps that the generic parts of the film are handled very well. Harrelson’s character arc is believable enough and even though he doesn’t know how to address disabilities to begin with he isn’t an embarrassing “sorry I’m not PC enough” cliche, he’s just an idiot. Like all films of this type it flirts with schmaltz but mostly keeps on the heartwarming side of things and while the end resolution feels a little rushed its a satisfying conclusion.
A solid feel good effort destined to become one of those films you catch while flicking through the channels and end up watching until the end.
7 out of 10 hours community service for filled.