Review of The Bronze (2016) by Haveyouseenit — 27 Mar 2016

In The Bronze, Melissa Rauch (from the “Big Bang Theory”) plays a foul-mouthed aging gymnast who seeks cash and personal redemption when she agrees to coach a pretty up-and-coming star in the National Championships.

While the plot is familiar, the movie is filled with enough quirks, comic creation, and originality, to keep you laughing and entertained. Rauch is a sarcastic, iron-willed ice-princess who has experienced the heady pleasures of Olympic fame and will fight to the death to hold onto her rightful place in the spotlight.

However, the movie also balances itself with a serious side, and the aging gymnast’s relationship with her mailman father (played to perfection by Gary Cole) is rather touching. Having allowed his daughter to live out her dreams, the patient and loving father now has to hold together the pieces of their slowly crumbling lives.

Cole needs to support his daughter’s gymnastic dreams while keeping her grounded in reality. In contrast to the gymnast’s physical perfection, Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”) is plagued with poor self esteem and facial ticks, but he offers Rauch a rare chance at real love, looking beyond the spangled leotard for an emotional connection.

The highlight of the movie is a sweat-soaked gymnastics bedroom romp that gets a gold medal 10 from all the judges! Well-directed by Bryan Buckley, The Bronze is a fun and surprising discovery.