There have been many inspirational basketball films, including Hoosiers, Hoop Dreams, and Above the Rim. Add to that list Champions starring Woody Harrelson as Marcus, a minor-league basketball coach in De Moines, Iowa, who has just been fired for pushing head coach Phil Perretti (Ernie Hudson) for not listening to him about strategy during a game.
To make matters worse, Marcus ends up slamming into a police car on his way home and is ordered by the court to perform 90 days of community service.
The judge notices his unique talents and orders him to coach a basketball team of young players with intellectual disabilities. Wanting to stay out of jail, Marcus reluctantly agrees.
To say he’s unimpressed with his players and their non-existent hoop skills would be a gross understatement. “It’s impossible to coach these guys,” says Marcus. “You don’t have to turn them into the Lakers; they just need to feel like a team,” replies Julio (Cheech Marin), the director of the basketball arena for people with disabilities.
Another problem emerges for Marcus when he discovers that Alex (Kaitlin Olson), the older sister of one of his players, is someone he had a one-night stand with that ended badly.
Without any legitimate way to back out of the commitment and being genuinely passionate about basketball, Marcus tries to teach the team some of the fundamentals of the game, along with a few simple moves to sink baskets. Slowly but surely, as Marcus and his team work together and travel to games, a real bond begins to develop between the new coach and his players that suggests that maybe, just maybe, they might be ready to play in the Special Olympics.
Directed by Bobby Farrell (There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber), Champions is a goofy, feel-good, and even charming sports comedy film with a solid performance by Woody Harrelson.
Harrelson is perfectly cast as the grumpy, down-on-his-luck ex-coach who, for the first time in his long and unsuccessful career, begins to get to know and care about his players and not just the games. Harrelson makes Marcus, who is definitely flawed, likable – and even relatable.
Kaitlin Olson is funny and tough as Alex, the big sister to Johnny (Kevin Iannucci), who initially has just a physical relationship with Marcus but eventually begins to like the well-meaning coach. Olson and Harrelson have decent chemistry together.
The team members are played by 10 young actors with disabilities: Kevin Iannucci, Joshua Felder, Ashton Gunning, James Day Keith, Tom Sinclair, Casey Metcalfe, Alex Hintz, Madison Tevlin, Matthew Von Der Ahe, and Bradley Edens. Some have acting experience and some are newcomers, but all deliver their lines, handle their scenes professionally, and have solid comic timing.
Champions is a big-hearted, by-the-numbers comedy that will surely have you smiling.
GRADE: B-
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude/sexual references and strong language
Running Time: 2 hours 3 minutes
Release Date: March 10, 2023
Studio: Focus Features
