The Bronze

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.

"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.

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 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.