The Bronze

In some ways, "The Bronze" is so entertaining because Melissa Rauch is playing someone in diametric opposition to her mousy character on "The Big Bang Theory". Hope Gregory is the sort of Olympics washout that's fun to laugh at; a foul-mouthed brat who trades in her local celebrity for free stuff at the mall. Rauch really plays the Midwestern accent to the hilt, and it pairs very nicely with the coarse dialogue.

Somewhere in all of this is a sports movie, but that's not where it excels. This character ends up right back where she started, and it works great as an exaggerated portrait of a has-been in a no-name town. This flew completely under my radar, and I was surprised (happily) by how enjoyable it was.

She's very funny.

7/10

"I had no control of what people talk about. Take that up with the God of gymnastics." Hope (Rauch) is the darling of her little town after winning bronze in the 1984 Olympics. Since that time she has made a living just being her and making sure everyone knows who she is. When her former coach dies she is asked to train America's greatest hope at a gold, Maggie (Richardson). Hope must now make a choice, train her to be better than she was, or give up the chance to collect $500,000. This is a hilarious movie, just flat out hilarious. Offensive, over the top and so laugh out loud funny that I had to rewind this a few times to catch the jokes I was missing. Rauch is incredible in this and almost everything she says is comedy gold. If you offend easy this is a movie you should probably avoid, but if you are a fan of R rated comedies this is one of the best ones I have seen in a long time. This is the type of movie I could watch over and over and still laugh every time. Overall, not a movie that will win awards but much like Idiocracy and Office Space its a movie with tremendous re-watchability and quotable lines that you will be saying over and over. I loved this and easily give this an A.

"I'm not a coach—I'm a star!" Hope (Melissa Rauch)

The Bronze is not a comedy—it's a dreary drama! A has-been bronze 2004 Olympic medalist, Hope, can't get over her misfortune of pulling an Achilles heel in that 2004 competition and thus aborting her future plans for gold. I suppose her bitter personality, verbally abusing everyone in her path, could qualify for dark comedy, but Billy Bob's Bad Santa she's not, certainly not Fargo or Shaun of the Dead.

When Hope is spitting invective on everyone, Hope has a Midwestern twang truly annoying and crying out for a coach. Beside that irritation, Ms. Rauch and her husband, Winston, have few if any lines worth the comic designation. Humorous in its own way is love interest Ben's (Thomas Middleditch) constant twitching, but even that endearing affliction gets old soon. Gary Cole playing her dad is a pro as a weak father trying to balance out his beloved daughter emotionally while she continues to abuse him verbally.

So you ask what's good besides Gary Cole? Well, Hope's transformation into a semi-civilized person comes as she's forced to coach sweet Olympic hopeful, Maggie (Haley Lu Richardson), a rival for the small-town Ohio's worship of Hope's Bronze achievement. Hope is much more likable as a coach than a former athlete, and some of those coach scenes are believable.

Also noteworthy is the production design, especially Hope's room filled with tacky trophies and teddy bears, attesting to this film's greatest achievement—a story of arrested development with little hope that Hope will be a model citizen. After all, it takes some moral fiber to disavow casual sex and mail theft for their cheap acquisition.

Her last scene, however, promises a transformation we get too little of during our time with her .

I want to start out by saying this film is fantastic..! It starts out REALLY slow & I almost made the mistake by turning it off but I stuck with it & boy am I glad.. Melissa Rauch who I'd never heard of before watching this film is hilarious.. She plays a mean foul mouthed former Olympian bronze medalist who is still living off that fame 12 yrs later & plays the part like a BOSS..!

*******WARNING*******

This film isn't for everyone it is filled with cuss words, sexual innuendos, nudity & a whole bunch of funny so if you like any or all of the above you'll love this film.. 7.5/10

If you like dark comedies this is a good one to watch.

It has one of the weirdest sex scenes ever, and usually I skip those.

If you like I, Tonya you will like this movie too.