The Winning Season (2009)

A comedy centered on a has-been coach who is given a shot at redemption when he's asked to run his local high school's girls basketball team.

Director:

James C. Strouse

Writer:

James C. Strouse

Stars:

Sam Rockwell, Emma Roberts, Rob Corddry

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Rockwell	...	Bill
Emma Roberts	...	Abby
Rob Corddry	...	Terry
Emily Rios	...	Kathy
Rooney Mara	...	Wendy
Jessica Hecht	...	Stacey
Connor Paolo	...	Damon
Meaghan Witri	...	Tamra
Melanie Hinkle	...	Mindy
Shana Dowdeswell	...	Molly
Vanessa Gordillo	...	Flor
Shareeka Epps	...	Lisa
Margo Martindale	...	Donna
Melissa Graver	...	New Rome Forward
Caitlin Colford	...	Trish

Storyline

Only connect. In a Hoosier town, boys' basketball is king. Bill is a former athlete and high-school coach who drinks too much, rarely sees his daughter from an old marriage, and busses tables at a local cafe. A friend who's now a principal offers him a job coaching girls; Bill takes it without much spirit. Six come to practice; one has a broken foot. They're awful in their first game, and Bill has to figure out, with help from Donna, the school's burly bus driver, if he actually can coach girls. They respond, and Bill suddenly has a family of sorts, just as his own relationship with his daughter worsens. With a winning season in reach, will Bill blow this chance?

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Plot Keywords:

coach | high school | basketball | athlete | broken foot | 

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Taglines:

It took a bunch of girls to make him man up.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, language including some sexual references, alcohol abuse and smoking

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Até à Vitória

Filming Locations:

Hicksville, Long Island, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gigi Productions, Plum Pictures, Sneaky Pete Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 119 min (European Film Market)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Bill: Yo! What's going on? Is there a reason you're not passing at her? Alright, look I... I don't know what shit you girls have between with each other, I don't give a shit, I got enough shit in my own life. I gotta a whole universe of shit. And now even more: your shit. So just keep your shit off the court, ok? You can't start drawing lines here. I mean, even if we did you're on the wrong side, anyway.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Video Guide 2010 (2010)

User Reviews

The same sports story, but done with quality dramatic and comedic elements

At least "The Winning Season" knows that the whole down-on-his-luck coach and group of misfit girls basketball team who learn about life and winning together type of story has been done before. They did unfortunately follow the exact same formula, but with a hint of whimsy and self-awareness, it's above average for the genre.

Emma Roberts and the other girls comprising the team actually come across as real teenage girls. I found them cute and funny. As a big fan of Sam Rockwell, he seems to be the reason why this film is pretty good. He's basically a drunken asshole, very unlikable, but he completely draws you in so there's a real emotional connection for the dramatic elements. And as he has demonstrated before, his physical comedy antics are perfect making the comedy scenes pretty funny.

"The Winning Season" has been done many times before, but here they managed to do it without being cheesy, while providing quality scenes of drama and comedy. If you like the genre, it is certainly worth a look.