Champions

Comedy, Drama, Sport Rated: PG-13 124 min
Play

Bobby Farrelly, of the Farrelly Brothers, makes his directorial debut with this comedic tale of a disagreeable former minor-league basketball coach court-ordered to manage a team of intellectually disabled players. Based on the Spanish film Campeones by Javier Fesser, Farrelly and Harrelson imbue this new version with their signature big-hearted humor and humanity. There are touches of Kingpin and Something About Mary in the mix, but the real focus is on how far the coach and his new team can go together. Kaitlin Olson, known for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, shines in her starring role opposite Harrelson.

 

“What makes Champions a treat is the deftness with which Mark Rizzo’s script sidesteps sentimentality in favour of something more raucously truthful…” — Mark Kermode, Observer (UK)
“Woody Harrelson offers a winning, low-key performance with a high feel-good percentage.” — Richard Roeper, Chicago-Sun Times
directed by
Bobby Farrelly
written by
Mark Rizzo, Javier Fesser, David Marqués
with
Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Ernie Hudson, Matt Cook, Cheech Marin