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    Eddie the Eagle

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    “Eddie the Eagle” is the kind of sports dramedy that’s based on a true story and designed to please audiences. It’s not trying to deliver a bold message and it’s got plenty of clichéd moments, but that’s ok. A movie can get away with almost anything as long as it entertains and this one does. It a little story that got to me. I feel just the tiniest bit inspired by this biopic.

    Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton) has always dreamed of being an Olympic champion. One look at him though and you know he’s never going to make it onto any of the UK’s Olympic teams, much less win a medal. That is until he realizes that with no one else in the country vying to participate in the 70-metre ski jump at the 1988 winter Olympics, there’s no way he can’t get in. With the help of curmudgeon former skier by the name of Bronson (Hugh Jackman), Eddie’s dream may come true.

    The film is being advertised as being much more comedic than it actually is. If like me you find yourself smiling and chuckling frequently at “Eddie the Eagle”, but not laughing out loud very much, it’s ok. Don’t get discouraged. This film isn’t really trying to make you fall out of your seat as Eddie’s attempts to self-train (and later semi professionally train) end in frequent disaster. At its core, it’s about heart and knowing that it’s ok not to be the best. It’s about a man with ambition and some moderate skills. Not an undiscovered champion or an underdog just waiting for the right opportunity or someone who had their chance, blew it and is getting ready for a comeback. It’s about a regular guy with a dream that people have laughed at for years. I think we’ve all had that vision at one point or another.

    “Eddie” is about that instant where against all odds, you realized that you had a shot at it. Yes I was able to see the strings being pulled by the emotional puppet master, but I didn’t mind so much because the protagonist is genuinely likeable. There was a particular point in the story where I realized that it had completely won me over. It’s during a brief exchange where someone congratulates Eddie on his tenacity. The man truly encompasses the spirit of sportsmanship because he just wants to compete. If he loses that’s ok. He won’t be throwing fits. He’s not going to look at a silver medal and toss it because he “came here for the gold”. He’s the kind of guy you’d almost feel bad beating because afterwards he’d come over to see you, congratulate you on your success and buy you a drink… if he drank himself. I know these types of sports films are meant to be inspiring and usually, the message I get out of it is that if I disciplined myself like this team or that lady or those kids, I could be just like them. I appreciate the fact that “Eddie” delivers a different type of message. There’s a reason why the man got his own movie. It’s like if he can do it, then ANYONE can. Even if he doesn’t make it, the fact that he kept trying is inspiring. He’s standing up for the littlest guys because of his modest ambitions. The story sells you on that fantasy of his. His trek to the Olympics winds up feeling just as important as something like “Race” where the stakes are as high as they can get without the fate of the planet literally being at stake.

    “Eddie the Eagle” is the kind of picture that’s based on a true story that you’d take your grandmother to. The humour is nice and clean, with a few little bits where it gets just a hint of the most watered-down amount of raunchiness so that the adults can chuckle and realize that it’s ok to not take this too seriously. The overall message is nice, the hero is likeable and the performances are good. Actually I have to give special credit to Taron Egerton. You see photos during the end credits of the real guy and you can tell that the young British actor got him dead-on. This picture could have easily been mean-spirited or cheesy, but isn’t. “Eddie the Eagle” doesn’t have high ambitions to reinvent the wheel or have its audience drowning in tears, but that’s oddly appropriate considering the subject matter. It’s a winner because it embraces the spirit of the man it’s bringing to the screen and that odd enthusiasm is contagious. (Theatrical version on the big screen, March 1, 2016)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  4.3.2016 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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