The Winning Season

Last night, while trying to kill some time until I would be tired enough to sleep, I decided to watch a movie.  Not an action movie, because I did not want it to be too loud for my wife Rachel who was fast asleep beside me, as well I did not want to get my adrenaline rushing and my fists pumping.  That would not help the sleep situation.  I didn't want a drama that would force me to be completely engaged and use mental powers.  I figured comedy was my best bet, so I started going through the Netflix lineup and essentially just looking for ones that were not too long and did not look too stupid (as there are a lot of stupid comedies out there).

I ended up picked was The Winning Season, a film about a drunk dishwasher/bus boy named Bill (Sam Rockwell), who used to be a successful basketball coach before being fired when his players refused to play for him.  He is approached by his old acquaintance Terry (Rob Corddry), who is now the principle of a high school and wants Bill to coach the girl's varsity basketball team, which consists of six very bored looking girls, and only five of them having the ability to move around without crutches.  The basic premise of the movie is quite similar to other sports movies as the new coach doesn't really want to be there, and the players don't really care for the coach.

However, unlike The Mighty Ducks, this movie attempts to have a certain reality around it, instead of making the story lines candy coated.  It had Bill dealing with a self destructive life, living in filth and drinking non-stop.  We see him as a bad father who completely alienates his daughter, who not only does not want to stop visiting him, but wants a restraining order against him.  We see a man who is completely lonely, and essentially tries to keep everyone away from him.  This is when the movie has its true power, as Rockwell is able to deliver those emotions quite powerfully.  There is only so much sympathy we have to give for him, because he is a complete jerk, but we do get to at times see the hurting man who lives behind the beer and the inappropriate comments.

Another aspect that makes this different from the Disney style movies of the same concept is the script.  When you have a drunk, sexist coach trying to work with teenage girls at the height of their hormone induced frenzies of verbage, you are going to get a swear or two.  To me, this actually made the movie seem a bit more real to me, which is needed when the characters are designed to be gritty and a little more true to the harshness that life sometimes provides.  There was some good humour in the script as well, as I ended up laughing a great number of times thanks to some good performances, but mainly thanks to the delivery and timing of Sam Rockwell.

The purpose of the film is to show the coach start to come around and have a connection to the girls, who in turn do the same thing.  At times the movie succeeds with some emotionally charged scenes, and at other times the issue feels forced.  I wouldn't say that it is a problem with the pace of the movie, but more so with the script not being incredibly strong during sections.  Director/writer James Strouse shows some definite talent, but was just unable to deliver the same level of quality in scenes and character progression throughout the entire film.

What this movie did most for me is leave me mourning for the career of Sam Rockwell.  It seems such a tragedy to me that he does not get much in the way of major release movies, and that people do not seem to know who he is.  He would be on a short list of most under-rated actors, that would be sure, and his performance in this movie is able to show his skills.  He is always able to be funny, but he is always able to exhibit so much emotion from his face and his posture.  He makes us feel lonely for him in this movie, he makes us feel proud for him when he becomes unyieldingly protective, and we are touched by him when we see how loyal he is.

He truly did drive the movie, but his performance alone is not enough for me to recommend this movie.  If you have Netflix, if you enjoy sci-fi, and if you want to see a great Rockwell performance, watch Moon.  If you want to see an even better Rockwell performance and don't mind spending a few dollars, rent The Way, Way Back.  I don't think you will regret the rental fees on that one.

Rating - 2.5 out of 4 stars