movie review champions woody harrelson

"If I can't say the R-word, what do I call them?" asks Marcus ( Woody Harrelson ), a disgraced minor-league basketball coach sentenced to 90 days of community service coaching the Friends, a team whose players have intellectual disabilities. "Their names," the judge replies. 

Based on the 2018 Spanish film "Campeones," Bobby Farrelly 's "Champions" follows the basic plot of every other inspirational sports movie about a hangdog coach in need of redemption. But it has the added cringiness of using its team of Disabled basketball players solely as a method towards this redemption while completely failing to see their humanity. 

At the film's beginning, Harrelson's Marcus is arrogant, combative, and every other cliche you'd expect for this kind of character. In 2023, it's hard to see why we should want to spend two hours watching this guy, even with the signature charm Harrelson brings to every role he plays. His one-night-stand-turned-love-interest Alex ( Kaitlin Olson ) doesn't fare much better with characterization, uttering abysmal lines like "I'm a woman over 40. I have needs." But thankfully, Olson finds a few more layers within her performance than the character is granted on the page. 

"I'm sorry, I'm new to this," Marcus says to Alex after making a major gaffe asking how her brother Johnny ( Kevin Iannucci ) got his intellectual disability. To which she has to explain he was born with Down Syndrome, you don't catch it. That's the main presumption of the film: that everyone watching it is new to knowing anything about intellectual disabilities, and therefore it's continually explaining their existence rather than allowing them to exist. 

In an earlier scene, the rec center manager Julio ( Cheech Marin ) tells Marcus about the personal lives of the team. As his speech plays out over voiceover, we see little vignettes of their jobs and homes. However, the filmmakers never actually bother to spend any time with these characters as they live their lives. Instead, they show the audience their lives from an almost anthropological distance. The filmmakers see them solely as teaching tools for Marcus and the audience, not complex human beings worth spending real time with.

Yet, the script gives the burgeoning relationship between Marcus and Alex plenty of screentime. We watch it blossom from straight sex to dinner in restaurants to Marcus watching Alex perform Shakespeare at her job to Marcus eventually coming over to her and Johnny's home for their mother's cheesy meatloaf Monday. 

This lack of respect for the humanity of these characters also comes at the expense of the dynamic cast playing the Friends— Madison Tevlin , Joshua Felder , Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning , Matthew Von Der Ahe , Tom Sinclair , James Day Keith , Casey Metcalfe , and Bradley Edens —whose star power, charisma, and comic timing is wasted in pithy one-liners and dated jokes. 

While each character is given an arc, they are mostly in relation to their goal of making it to the Special Olympics North American Regional Championship. By the time the credits roll, it's not surprising that none of the actors in the Friends are listed along with the non-disabled stars of the film before the title treatment, given the film's lack of respect for them throughout. 

Once the team does qualify for the championship in Winnipeg, they, of course, are behind leading up to halftime, with Marcus giving the requisite inspirational locker room speech. The result is perhaps the most cringe-worthy part of the entire film, as Marcus lets them know they're already champions because of all the "stuff they put up with from ignorant people every day," further othering this scrappy crew into tokens, despite the film's good intentions. 

At the beginning of "Champions," when Marcus is fired from his assistant coaching position, lead coach Phil ( Ernie Hudson ) tells him he needs to know the players on a personal level, not just as ballplayers. The same can be said for the filmmakers, who need to offer the same grace to the Friends and see their whole humanity. 

"Champions" will be available only in theaters on March 10th. 

Marya E. Gates

Marya E. Gates is a freelance film and culture writer based in Los Angeles and Chicago. She studied Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley, and also has an overpriced and underused MFA in Film Production. Other bylines include Moviefone, The Playlist, Crooked Marquee, Nerdist, and Vulture. 

• Woody Harrelson as Marcus
• Kaitlin Olson as Alex
• Cheech Marin as Julio
• Matt Cook as Sonny
• Ernie Hudson as Coach Phil Peretti
• Madison Tevlin as Cosentino
• Joshua Felder as Darius
• Kevin Iannucci as Johnny
• Ashton Gunning as Cody
• Matthew Von Der Ahe as Craig
• James Day Keith as Benny
• Alex Hintz as Arthur
• Casey Metcalfe as Marlon
• Bradley Edens as Showtime
• Alicia Johnston as Coach Maya
• Tom Sinclair as Blair
• Mike Smith as Attorney McGurk
• Bobby Farrelly

Cinematographer

• C. Kim Miles

Writer (based on the Spanish film 'Campeones' by)

• David Marqués
• Javier Fesser
• Julie Garcés
• Michael Franti

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Review: The inspiring if formulaic ‘Champions’ translates into a winner

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The Farrelly brothers reigned supreme over comedies of questionable taste in the 1990s and 2000s (“Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “Shallow Hal,” “Stuck on You”), but while Peter has gone on to the industry’s highest success, picking up original screenplay and best picture Oscars for his film “Green Book,” Bobby hasn’t directed a film in awhile . He makes his comeback with his “Kingpin” star Woody Harrelson in the sports comedy “Champions,” an English-language remake of the 2018 Spanish smash hit, the Goya Award-winning “Campeones.”

Harrelson plays Marcus, a minor-league basketball coach who is sentenced to community service after a drunk-driving accident and finds himself coaching a team of intellectually disabled adults at a local community center in Des Moines, Iowa. Given the Farrelly track record of dabbling in more outre or offensive comedy, one might be bracing for what “Champions” may potentially deliver, but after an initial fake-out, Farrelly, Harrelson and writer Mark Rizzo deftly thread the needle on “Champions.” For the most part, it is warmly amusing without diving too far into the realm of the maudlin or treacly; and it side-steps anything insensitive while still enjoying some bawdy humor.

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You might also be thinking, “Isn’t this ‘The Mighty Ducks’ ?” — the 1992 kids sports comedy with Emilio Estevez as an attorney who gets sentenced to community service after a drunk-driving accident and has to coach a Minneapolis pee-wee hockey team — and yes, it’s basically the same story. The grumpy coach who has a hard time connecting with people finds himself opening up with his unlikely charges and learning to love the game again, because of the players, not in spite of them. The story does not deviate from the traditional sports movie formula we know so well.

What helps enliven “Champions” is what enlivens Coach Marcus himself — the team, called the Friends, which is cast entirely of actors with similar disabilities to their characters. Some are veteran actors, some were cast from their experience as Special Olympics athletes, and others make their screen debut in the film. One of the standouts, Kevin Iannucci, plays Johnny, whose older sister, Alex ( “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Kaitlin Olson) becomes Marcus’ love interest. The pair grow from Tinder one-night stand to reluctant allies to friends with benefits when Marcus takes over the team, but Alex’s spiky, self-protective humor and Marcus’ ambition to flee Iowa for an NBA job throws up the appropriate hurdles to their romance.

The plot also cribs heavily from traditional romance tropes, with Marcus as a stern striver finding himself charmed (and thawed) by the quirky residents of a small town, a surprisingly steamy attraction and, of course, the players he coaches. It’s not innovative storytelling, but it is effective — there’s a reason why these tropes exist.

“Champions” doesn’t break any molds, narratively or aesthetically, and it’s too long, but what sets it apart are the Friends, who offer warm and nuanced performances, and excellent representation for the disabled community, which has either been largely ignored on film or relegated to inappropriate punchlines or condescending stereotypes. Farrelly and Rizzo, working with the original material of “Campeones,” and the actors, offer a depiction of these characters and their lives as full with responsibilities, relationships, and joy. When Coach Marcus comes along, he’s just the icing on the cake. They were champs before he showed up, and the film is his journey to realizing that.

Katie Walsh is Tribune News Service film critic.

'Champions'

Rated: PG-13, for strong language and crude/sexual references Running time: 2 hours, 3 minutes Playing: Starts March 10 in general release

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A former minor-league basketball coach is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can g... Read all A former minor-league basketball coach is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined. A former minor-league basketball coach is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined.

• Bobby Farrelly
• Javier Fesser
• David Marqués
• Woody Harrelson
• Kaitlin Olson
• 163 User reviews
• 84 Critic reviews
• 50 Metascore
• 2 wins & 2 nominations

Top cast 49

• Coach Phil Perretti

• Judge Mary Menendez
• (as Alex Castillo)

• Attorney McGurk
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia Woody Harrelson had high praise for costar Madison Tevlin after working with her on the film. He was quoted as saying: "She's not a great basketball player, but she is a movie star."
• Goofs (at around 1h 40 mins) The Champions are chasing their opponents across the court, and the character Marlon ( Casey Metcalfe ) can be seen with his protective headgear; also Cosentino ( Madison Tevlin ) is behind him. The team scores, and it cuts back to the bench, and Marlon and Cosentino can be seen sitting on the side-lines behind Marcus ( Woody Harrelson ).

Cosentino : Your heart's a long way from your knee. Suck it up!

• Crazy credits The end credits are accompanied by the cast performing and dancing to "Tubthumping." There is also a short scene after the credits conclude.
• Connections Referenced in Diminishing Returns: Oscars 2019 (2019)
• Soundtracks I Had Some Money But I Spent It Performed by Nick Waterhouse Composed by Nick Waterhouse (as Nicholas Waterhouse), Anthony Polizzi Courtesy of Round Hill Records By arrangement with ZYNC Music, a Round Hill Company

User reviews 163

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• March 10, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
• Gold Circle Films
• Seven Deuce Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $16,397,335
• Mar 12, 2023
• $19,158,302
• Runtime 2 hours 4 minutes

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• Review: <i>Champions</i> Is a Gentle Comedy That Puts the Spotlight on Disabled Actors

Review: Champions Is a Gentle Comedy That Puts the Spotlight on Disabled Actors

T here are some good reasons to be nostalgic for the late 1990s to early 2000s, and the movies made by the Farrelly Brothers constitute one of them. Though they’re best known for the gross-out jokes in movies like Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, the real trademark of the films made by Peter and Bobby Farrelly is their sweetness, and their eagerness— sometimes misguided but never mean-spirited—to make sure every character is treated as a multidimensional human being. Some—like the cartoonishly grouchy guy, in There’s Something About Mary, whose wheelchair bears the bumper sticker “How’s my driving? Call 1-800-eat-shit”—are more irritable than virtuous, but that’s precisely the point: a disability isn’t the same as a personality. And as far as the much-maligned Shallow Hal goes, most people seem to have forgotten about the character of Walt, written by the Farrellys for a man they met in a New England bar, Rene Kirby, who was born with spina bifida. Walt is a rich, handsome, charming software mogul, and as Kirby plays him, he’s one of the most captivating characters in the movie.

With Champions, director Bobby Farrelly returns us to the late 1990s, a time when there were fewer sorely needed guidelines, but also fewer gatekeepers just waiting to catch well-meaning people who happen to trip up. Champions is a reworked version of the 2018 Spanish film Campeones , which itself was inspired by the true story of a hotshot basketball team from Valencia, made up of intellectually disabled individuals. (The Champions script is by Mark Rizzo, riffing on the original by Javier Fesser and David Marqués.) Woody Harrelson stars as Marcus, a shallow and deeply unlikable assistant basketball coach, employed by an Iowa minor-league team. After getting caught driving while drunk, he’s sentenced to 90 days of community service—specifically, coaching a crew of disabled basketball players known as the Friends. It’s the last thing he’d ever do if left to his own devices.

Predictably, Marcus is at first appalled by the team’s playing capabilities, or lack thereof: There’s Showtime (Bradley Edens), who’s got all the right victory-dance moves even though has no idea what to do with the ball; Craig (Matthew Von Der Ahe), who’s preoccupied with bragging about his multiple girlfriends; and Johnny (Kevin Iannucci), who might be a decent player, but whose fears get the better of him—in particular, he’s terrified of water, which means he refuses to shower after practice, or, for that matter, ever. But this 10-player team isn’t particularly impressed with Marcus, either. They eye him with suspicion, or simply refuse to cooperate. The player who’s hailed by the others as the best on the team, Darius (Joshua Felder), stalks off the court shortly after Marcus shows up, refusing to play for him—his reasons are revealed later in the movie.

Marcus goes through the motions of making the best of the situation, only to realize he truly likes these guys. Champions heads pretty much exactly where you think it’s going to go—it does follow the classic underdog-champion template after all—and it also includes the requisite romance: Kaitlin Olson plays Alex, Johnny’s older and very protective sister, a straight-talking wisecracker who reluctantly takes up with Marcus, only to realize she’s falling for him (and the feeling is mutual). As appealing as Olson is, the romance is Champions’ weakest element. And if you miss the trademark Farrelly gross-outs, there is an instance of projectile vomiting to look forward to.

But it’s much more fun just to spend time with the players, and to watch Marcus riff with them. All of the Friends are played by disabled performers, many of whom have never acted before. Yet they’re all naturals—they know how to get laughs, and they relish it. The team’s savior, a firecracker of a player named Cosentino (Madison Tevlin), struts into the movie like she owns it. The other players are overjoyed at seeing her, calling out her name, but with a withering glance she sets Marcus straight right away: “It’s Ms. Cosentino to you.” Her timing is as sharp as Harrelson’s—maybe sharper.

All of that said, Champions is a movie that’s out of step with where we’re at these days, at least in terms of mainstream comedy (whatever that is anymore). It’s tempting to look at a comedy like Champions and roll our eyes, figuring that by now everyone knows that disabled people are individuals with distinct personalities. Of course—but then, why don’t we see more of them in the movies, as characters and as actors? In that sense, Champions is a forward-thinking film masquerading as a deeply conventional one. We can say we’ve seen it all before—but when, and where? We’re so busy being progressive—and pointing our fingers at people who, we’ve decided, are not—that we’re stuck in a rut, having lost sight of the fact that to progress means to move forward. Champions, at least, is trying to do just that, keeping the ball moving every minute. That’s harder than it looks—and a lot harder than calling the shots from the sidelines.

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‘Champions’ Review: Woody Harrelson Stars in What Probably Could’ve Been the Feel-Good Film of 1993

'There's Something About Mary' co-director Bobby Farrelly surrounds the 'White Men Can't Jump' star with a predominantly disabled cast in this retrograde but well-intentioned remake of 'Campeones.'

By Peter Debruge

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While Peter Farrelly was off winning Oscars for “Green Book,” younger brother Bobby has been largely absent from feature directing. It’s been nearly a decade since the siblings shared credit — the last time being 2014’s “Dumb and Dumber To.” Now, rather than competing with Peter at the respectability game, Bobby sticks to what he knows with “ Champions ,” in which Woody Harrelson plays a minor-league basketball coach court-ordered to assist a Special Olympics team for 90 days — just long enough to take the team from bumbling incompetents to national finalists.

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Marlon (Casey Metcalfe) wears a padded helmet and thick glasses, speaks several languages and quotes obscure trivia on command. Showtime (Bradley Edens) knows just one shot, which involves lobbing the ball high over his head, but he rarely comes within 10 feet of the basket. Johnny (Kevin Iannucci) has Down syndrome and a resistance to showering; he also has a hot older sister, Alex (Kaitlin Olson), whom Marcus hooks up with in the opening scene. With the exception of wild-gal Cosentino (Madison Tevlin), they’re all dudes.

When Marcus takes the job, the players can hardly dribble, cringing anytime a ball’s thrown at them. By the end of the season, they play like the Harlem Globetrotters. But as gym manager Julio (Cheech Marin) explains, the Friends have been let down before, coached and abandoned by someone who wasn’t genuinely committed to the task.

As punishment for crashing into a cop car while drunk, Marcus has been ordered to do community service, but he doesn’t have any intention of volunteering a day more than the obligatory 90. No prizes for predicting how his attitude changes over those three months. At first, Marcus sees the team as hopeless, and who can blame him, given all the slapstick shtick Farrelly puts them through? But then the games start, and the Friends start winning.

Next thing we know, the team has been invited to the Special Olympics championship in Winnipeg, Marcus has been invited over for meatloaf dinner at Johnny and Alex’s house, and the NBA has invited Marcus to take a professional coaching gig that would tear him away from the Friends. It all plays out quite predictably, with one possible exception, depending on what you make of the “Hoosiers” reference early on.

Had it come out three decades earlier, “Champions” would have almost certainly been the feel-good film of 1993. Today, it’s an oddly dated opportunity for disabled actors with real-world hoop skills to play silly caricatures of themselves — which is where the Farrelly oeuvre and certain other films, like “How’s Your News?,” have innovated before, reminding audiences that differences can be funny, and it’s OK to laugh. Here, the performances come with certain limitations (the line readings sound memorized, never spontaneous), but as a whole, the movie makes memorable, three-dimensional characters of its players, and that’s a start.

Reviewed at Crescent Theater, Los Angeles, Feb. 21, 2023. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 123 MIN.

• Production: A Focus Features release of a Focus Features, Gold Circle Entertainment presentation of a Gold Circle Entertainment production. Producers: Paul Brooks, Scott Niemeyer, Jeremy Plager. Executive producers: Brad Kessell, Woody Harrelson, Alexander Jooss, Luis Manso, Álvaro Longoria, Javier Fesser.
• Crew: Director: Bobby Farrelly. Screenplay: Mark Rizzo, based on the film “Campeones” by Javier Fesser, written by David Marques, Javier Fesser; story: David Marques. Camera: C. Kim Miles. Editor: Julie Garcés. Music: Michael Franti.
• With: Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Matt Cook, Ernie Hudson, Cheech Marin, Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens.

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‘champions’ review: woody harrelson in bobby farrelly’s formulaic but endearing underdog sports comedy.

The 'White Men Can't Jump' star hits the basketball court again as a down-on-his-luck coach who takes charge of a team of young players with intellectual disabilities.

By Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An irascible, down-on-his-luck coach is reluctantly put in charge of a ragtag team of misfits who can barely play the game. Although he can hardly disguise his initial disgust, the players’ enthusiastic attitudes and general lovability soften him up until he becomes not just their coach but also their most ardent cheerleader. In the process, he becomes a better person.

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In this case, the team in question is composed of young basketball players with intellectual disabilities, whom Marcus (Harrelson) is enlisted to coach when he’s sentenced to 90 days of community service after making the mistake of ramming the back of a police car. A former NBA coach, he’s already had a streak of bad luck, having recently been fired from his assistant coaching position at a Des Moines minor-league basketball team after violently shoving the head coach ( Ernie Hudson ) during a heated argument over strategy.

Since his only alternative is to spend the 90 days in jail, Marcus accepts the assignment of coaching the “Friends” (in the Spanish film the team was called “Los Amigos,” which gives you an idea of the faithfulness of Mark Rizzo’s screenplay) for the Special Olympics. Needless to say, he’s unimpressed with their non-existent hoop skills, and he’s not exactly sensitive when it comes to their difference. Another complicating factor comes in the form of his unexpected reunion with a player’s older sister Alex ( Kaitlin Olson , It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Hacks ), with whom he recently had a one-night stand that didn’t end well.

Yes, that Bobby Farrelly, who hasn’t exactly proved himself a paragon of political correctness in such films co-directed with his brother Peter as Dumb and Dumber , There’s Something About Mary and Shallow Hal . There’s certainly plenty of opportunity here for the humor to go south, but Farrelly, making his solo feature directorial debut, strikes exactly the right tone, with the film having plenty of fun at Harrelson’s character’s expense while treating his young charges with dignity. That’s not to say the Friends don’t provide plenty of laughs, especially their newest member Cosentino (a hilarious Madison Tevlin), whose sharp comments frequently put Marcus in his place.

That the film succeeds to the extent that it does is also a testament to Harrelson, the rare actor who can be endearing even when his character is behaving like a boorish jerk. He’s simply impossible to dislike, and here he handles Marcus’ gradual transformation with his usual skill and well-honed comic chops. Matching him note for note is Olson, delivering a vibrantly sexy, funny performance as a woman who doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

By the time Champions reaches its all too predictable yet still satisfying happy ending, you’ll be fully aware of every one of its feel-good machinations. And you probably won’t mind at all.

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Champions Reviews

Offers a formula-driven tale of down-and-outers-done-good with a gooey heart in the middle.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 18, 2024

Champions manages to last for more than two hours without ever even stumbling into a visually interesting composition.

Full Review | May 16, 2024

Fans of the genre will probably enjoy this, but if you're looking for something new, you'd be better off looking elsewhere.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Apr 23, 2024

For anyone looking for something subtle or nuanced, look elsewhere, it’s still a Farrelly film. However, Champions takes a small story, in a small world and leans into the heart.

Full Review | Apr 22, 2024

While Farrelly isn't uncomfortable in foreign territory, there is no doubt he's playing away from home, with marked cards and within pre-established parameters, when his environment has always been freedom and tone overtures. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 18, 2023

A handful of funny moments can't rescue diet Woody Harrelson and a recycled sports story. Watch it when there's laundry to be folded.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 26, 2023

The exact movie you expect from the trailer & a straight definition of heartwarming fun

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

Once you push past all the sentimentality, Champions struggles to stand out from the typical sports movie tropes and feels, dare I say, hollow in its representation.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 23, 2023

This is a pretty powerful film that explores the serious themes of friendship and what it is like living in the modern world with a disability. This is a heart-warming film that delivers just the right amount of laughs as well.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 22, 2023

If Farrelly held back on extolling his magnanimity and took a more objective approach to the story and main character, the end result would’ve been as brave as the kids it portrays.

Full Review | May 29, 2023

There may be more smiles than big laughs in this comedy from half the team that knows how to deliver them. But the smiles work well enough as does the relationship between Harrelson and Olson.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 22, 2023

Champions is just fine, yet there’s the nagging feeling that a more thoughtful and compelling story could emerge from an alternate version of the screenplay.

Full Review | May 2, 2023

Champions may have you wanting to bounce a basketball in your driveway.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 27, 2023

There’s something noble in what director Bobby Farrelly is trying to do in his new movie, “Champions.” … But nobility is about intentions, not the results.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 23, 2023

Some critics are saying the film is patronizing and making a mockery of the disabled community, but that’s not the case. The cast brings out the best in each other and all are true champions.

Full Review | Apr 10, 2023

A film that follows formula pretty shamelessly, but should satisfy audiences looking for an easygoing crowd-pleaser with a sports theme and an inspirational message.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Apr 5, 2023

Wholesome and commendable. These fresh screen faces ooze charisma and have wonderful comic timing.

Full Review | Apr 4, 2023

It’s difficult to get past just how mediocre the film is overall. This has nothing to do with the players on the team; instead, it’s the C-level writing and ham-handed directing that brings the movie down.

Full Review | Apr 1, 2023

Predictability aside, everything about this movie makes it a feel-good winner except for the runtime and that really did impact the enjoyment.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 24, 2023

I truly don’t think it’s Farrelly’s intention to offend. I think he genuinely wants to undercut the notion that those suffering from this condition are capable of experiencing a life as full as those who are not similarly afflicted.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 24, 2023