The Bronze

The Bronze

Low budget comedy that gets overlooked. Check. Amazing dialogue that will make your grandma be tickled pink. Check. Amazing acting from under-appreciated actors. Check. The Bronze is about a former medalist who has to struggle with no longer being in the limelight. The opening scene in the film is by far the most interesting way to introduce a character I've seen in a long time.

Melissa Rauch plays Hope. The extremely crass gymnast who doesn't care what she says but truly cares what people think of her. The first time I heard her voice I immediately thought of Bernadette Rostenkowski from Big Bang Theory, but then as she spoke more and she transformed into Hope.

Gary Cole plays another father figure. You might remember him from Reese Bobby from Talladega Nights or as Bill Lumbergh from Office Space. He's has a great character who just wants to make his daughter happy but at the same time be a responsible father.

Sebastian Stan plays Bucky Barns, no wait that's who he plays in Captain America, Stan plays Lance. Hope doesn't like most people, so when I say she hates Lance, it means something. He was a silver and gold medalist and took something very important to Hope when she was younger.

Haley Lu Richardson is excellent as an up and coming gymnast. This was the first time I've really seen her act. That being said I'm excited to see her in M. Night Shyamalan's Split coming out in 2017.

Verdict: I wouldn't recommend this to someone whose easily offended. If you've got the skin for it, I can't recommend this comedy more.

I avoided this movie because I saw a clip of the very raunchy looking "scene." I came across it tonight and I was blown away. It is subtle comedy, and yes, it is crass. But it is not crass in the way other movies (like Trainwreck- which I hated) do it to get a laugh. The laughs come from the situations. The character is a spoiled, self-centered, a-hole who cannot accept that her glory days are over (imagine the washed out small town high school quarterback). This is her attitude, her tough-as-nails, no b.s, cause I'm a winner kind of loser. The closest I can compare this is to Danny McBride in "Eastbound and Down." So if you like that kind of humor: the kind of pathetic jerk who can't see themselves as anything other than a champ and ends up getting a little heart (and pride kicks) along the way then you will probably enjoy this.

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.

"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.

As someone who has actually seen this movie and liked it, I feel a responsibility in taking it under my wing to protect it from some of the unfair criticism it's received. I think some people don't want Melissa Rausch to succeed because she's already a wildly popular TV star and they are punishing her. Some people are actually delighted that it's doing poorly at the box office.

I don't say this movie is a 10 (how many movies are) but its certainly enjoyable and original. While you can label it a comedy,it's more appreciated as a character study of Hope Greggory, a former bronze medal gymnast who had to cut her career short due to an injury and has put her life on hold ever since. I'm sorry if this has turned into more of a rant instead of a review but I'm just not understanding why it's being panned when this is a pretty good movie. Melissa is very talented and versatile and has a great career ahead of her after Big Bang Theory.