Review of The Bronze (2016) by Iac — 24 Jul 2016

This is an enjoyable movie that I don't think quite deserves the bad press it's gotten. It suffers mainly from a confused genre that veers more towards sports drama than the comedy it's billed as, although comedy is definitely a big factor. It's a cross between "As Good as It Gets" meets...like, basically any sports movie, where the has-been coach also happens to be the crankiest but most talented person in town. It suffers in that it waits just maybe five minutes too long to generate sympathy for the protagonist, who covers up vulnerability with abrasiveness a little too well, to the point that we wonder if there is anything to like about her at all. There is, if you stick with it, but it's easy enough to see why people who don't like the character initially don't get past it in time to enjoy the rest of the movie. In my opinion, it's a better flick than "As Good as it Gets," which at 2h19 feels interminable by the 1h30 mark.

Aside from taking slightly too long to establish sympathy, this 1hr40min drama/comedy is well paced, and keeps you engaged through the growth of the character, who does evolve into a good person without abandoning everything that makes her her. The performances are great; Rauch is consistent and funny, Gary Cole is always solid, Middleditch (of Silicon Valley) is a great straightman with his own impeccable comedic timing, and Sebastian Stan packs feeling into a character who could have easily been a one-dimensional asshoIe. I'd give it a shot, and give yourself a chance to like it, remembering that the protag is just a bit slow to warm up to in the first third of the movie.