Eddie the Eagle

 2.5/4

Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Jo Hartley, Keith Allen, Iris Berben

Rated PG-13 for Some Suggestive Material, Partial Nudity and Smoking

"Eddie the Eagle" is Generic Sports Movie 101.  It even has a soundtrack peppered with obligatory inspirational songs to get the blood pumping and a score that sounds so similar to that of "Chariots of Fire" that it is certainly not coincidental.  There is one important difference, however.  The hero, Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards (Egerton) has no chance whatsoever of coming in first place.

For Eddie, competing in the Olympics has been a lifelong obsession.  What sport he competes in is of no great consequence.  Nor is the fact that he is a worse athlete than Charlie Brown.  He just wants to be there.  He has spent his parents savings trying to achieve his dream, but to no avail.  His mother (Hartley) encourages him, but his father (Allen) believes him to be hopeless and tells insists that he join him as a craftsman.  After failing to make the skiing team, he decides to be a ski jumper and goes to Germany to train.  He has never done it, but as he says, he is determined and a fast learner.  Everyone treats him as a joke, but he remains undaunted.  Naturally, there is an old drunk lurking about named Bronson Perry (Jackman), who has it happens was a legend before his ego and alcohol tanked his career.  Eddie insists that Bronson Perry train him, but the veteran jumper wants nothing to do with Eddie.  But the quirky Brit is persistent, and together they set out to achieve his dream.

To the extent that it works, it's because the formula is almost foolproof.  There is something intrinsically captivating about watching a guy battle the odds to do something amazing.  I think it is because we all have insane dreams we wish we could achieve, and we enjoy the fantasy of reaching them.  Even if it is only vicariously.

Although the second half contains a lot of energy and tension that can only come from a good sports movie, I'm less enthused about the first half.  The writing is weak, with conversations lasting of only a handful of lines and humor that isn't especially funny.  Actually, the film makes more than a few stabs at comedy, but none elicits more than a half-hearted chuckle.  A rather raunchy analogy by Bronson that links ski jumping and sex with Bo Derek sounds like a laugh riot but it left me stone faced.  But once Eddie and Bronson become a team, the film finds its stride.  Director Dexter Fletcher ratchets up the tension as Eddie tries to earn a spot in the games (and avoid killing himself).  The ski jumps are the film's highlights; he films them in such a way that I felt I was really there doing the jumps.

Both leads are in top form.  Taron Egerton, who is growing into a fine actor, is excellent as Eddie.  The actor has brought everything quirk and idiosyncrasy to the screen, from his fluffy body to his twisted mouth to his lack of guile.  It's hard to say whether he is better here or in "Rocketman."  Hugh Jackman doesn't have as juicy of a role, mainly because he's playing a fictional character.  Sadly, it's one that we see in just about every sports movie: the old veteran in need of redemption.  Jackman is a fine actor and doesn't walk through the role, but Bronson just isn't as interesting.  There are also cameos by Jim Broadbent and Christopher Walken, and a mention of the Jamaican bobsled team whose story served as the basis for "Cool Runnings" (both competed at the same winter games).

Ultimately, "Eddie the Eagle" takes too few risks to be memorable.  Like its hero, it's a flash in the pan.  Nice while it lasts, but ultimately forgettable.