Review of The Winning Season (2009) by Tara A — 28 Sep 2011

This is really a better movie than it has a right to be. I shouldn't have been surprised, since Sam Rockwell is quickly emerging as one of the most compelling actors of his generation, not just in his consistently impeccable performances, but also for his choices in material.

For someone who tends to hate sports movies, this is especially high praise. I'm all for putting the girls in the spotlight, but when a coach takes over a ragtag team, there are only two possible results; they defy all expectations and win in the end, or they lose the big game but manage to learn valuable lessons about themselves and about teamwork. Rest assured, one of the two happens, but I won't ruin which.

Rockwell plays possibly the best coach I've ever seen in this scenario; I've grown bored of the impeccably soulful coaches in this situation pulling all the strings to wring these skills and life lessons out of their players. He's a drunken deadbeat who has almost no interest in his job, but is damn good when it comes to basketball, and despite all his hilarious dick antics, he has a faultless line of ethics when it comes to dealing with strangers. His pump up speech before the first big game is the stuff of legends.

The rest of the cast is faultless as well. Unsurprisingly, all the girls show up and never fail to exceed expectations, particularly newcomer Meaghan Witri who ably works the core of the emotional drama between the players, the coach, and the surprisingly effective Rob Corddry.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the film is laugh out loud funny. Rockwell anchors this aspect of the film, sucking you in with his pantomime facial expressions, line delivery, prop humor, and physical comedy, the latter two brought to bear in the appropriately winning climax.

Despite what anyone else says, you're doing yourself a serious disservice if you miss this film, no matter what your allegiances are to sports dramas or teen comedies.