The Winning Season

Every element comes together very well in this film give you much more than you'd expect from just another sports movie. Though it has a very "bad news bears" feel to it, the coach has real issues, but you don't really blame him for the problems he has. He ends up being more than just a coach to the girls, but a mentor and friend.

The acting all blends together well, and make the characters seem real with a scrip written with today's teenagers in mind. Even the soundtrack and graphic elements are a great edition and gives really brings it together.

I could normally care less about girl's basketball, but this movie will help you see there is more to this sport than just basketball. The winning season will captivate you and make you care about the characters and wish it was based on a true story.

Watched this on Amazon Prime, mainly because it starred Sam Rockwell, a great actor. He plays a disgraced high school basketball coach and alcoholic who is given a chance by a Principal to coach his girls basketball team. The Winning Season doesn't stray too far from the normal sports movies, but thanks to a good script and fine acting it succeeds in being far better than most. A Thumbs up, P.S you don't need to like sports to enjoy this movie.

This coming of age school sports drama adds nothing new to the genre. It has the usual tropes, washed out basketball coach, underperforming team with female teenage issues etc. However, it is really well done, with maybe a darker edge to proceedings than usual and some really good performances (Emma Roberts stands out and Rockwell as always puts in a good shift). If you want a coming of age drama and don't mind you have seen it all before, you could do a lot worse than this.

I loved this movie. I rented it on demand the same day as theatrical release. I thought it would be a goofy off the wall sort of comedy with Rob Corddry in it as the school principal. To my surprise this was a comedy that was very touching and heartwarming. I loved the developing relationship between Sam Rockwell (the girls coach) and the team. I was also very pleased to see a movie with a group of teenage girls that did not depict them as a bunch of catty little snots. Yes the team has their differences and cliquishness, but that is minimal compared to the bonding that goes on. Margo Martindale is great as the assistant coach. The actors in this movie are pitch perfect acting up to the limit of a real character but never crossing the line to where they are not believable. See this movie when you just want to feel good!

Sam Rockwell is perfect for this part, and does a great job with it. In real life h can't play basketball at all, but in watching this performance I found myself believing he was an all star. But he has a drinking problem, a very serious problem. The movie doesn't sidestep this at all, but it doesn't drag the movie down either. The actresses playing the girls all do a perfect job, and I commend them all. Emma Roberts is best, with Sharika Epps right behind. And Margo Martindale is fantastic, seems made for the part of the bus driver and then assistant coach. The Negotiation between her and Sam to take the job is hilarious. I won't give any real spoilers here, other than to say that I was left with the feeling that Sams Coach will recover in the end, and I found the ending was perfect for this disease, from which you're never totally cured.