Movie Review: The Bronze

So, did anyone else see The Bronze? I know there are some of you out there, it has made $.5 million as of this writing. The next question would be how many of you would admit to it if you did. It is not a good movie, although, to be fair, I have seen worse this year. On some level I think you could say I enjoyed it. Still, this is not a movie that much effort was made in terms of marketing it. One of my first thoughts as I walked out of the theater was wondering just who this movie was made for. It was an entity without a purpose. A comedy without the drive, a drama without the heart. Why was this made?



To be honest, when I first heard of the movie, it was the poster image, I thought it was about McKayla Maroney. You remember her, right? The “Not Impressed” gymnast from the 2012 Olympics? You may not remember the name, but the face should be remembered. Anyway, that is who I thought this was about and figured it was going to be a comedic take on the inspirational sports drama coming on the heels of Eddie the Eagle and Race from earlier this year. As it turns out, I was, of course, wrong. It is a purely fictional film set in the post-Olympic years of a bronze medalist.

The Bronze is actually a somewhat interesting concept, the problem is the uneven execution and the slammed together mashing of raunchy comedy and more straitlaced drama. The mix can be done, but here it is like someone took a pass at making a comedy, someone else took the story and made a drama and they made the movie by alternating pages of the screenplay.

The story follows Hope (Melissa Rauch, who co-wrote the screenplay), a bronze medalist in the Olympic games trying to live off the fame of her win in her small hometown. She is foulmouthed (pretty much every other word starts with an F), steals from her father’s (Gary Cole) mail truck. She generally does nothing but tool around town in her Team USA warm up gear. This is years after her win.

Her life is thrown for a loop when a new young gymnast from the same town is making waves and looking to make the Olympic team. Of course, Hope is enlisted as a trainer, bringing her face to face with her old nemesis, Lance (Sebastian Stan, Captain America’s Winter Soldier), and an old classmate, Ben (Thomas Middleditch). Wacky hi-jinx ensue as Hope does a pretty poor job as a trainer, but ultimately learns something about herself.

Nothing special to be found here. It follows the typical formula for these types of films, just tosses in vulgarity and nudity in an attempt to make it more “shocking,” I guess. Sure, I laughed a little, I saw where it was going with the whole redemption arc, but there was nothing really substantial to hold onto. It is there and then it is gone. The sort of movie that is made without an audience in mind. It is caught between worlds with nowhere to go and with no real original hook to keep anyone interested.

Not Recommended.