The Winning Season (2009)
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Reviews Counted: 21
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 10
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 3
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 1,713
My Rating
Movie Info
Set in suburban Indiana, the film stars Rockwell as Bill Greaves, an adult misfit recruited by the local high school principal (Corddry) to coach the school's floundering girls' basketball team. Initially retreating from what appears to be a hopeless situation, Bill perseveres and manages to help the team and its captain (Roberts) ratchet up its competitive spirit, while the girls offer Bill a renewed life focus. THE WINNING SEASON also stars Shareeka Epps, Emily Rios and Margo Martindale.-- (C)
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Cast
-
Sam Rockwell
Bill, Bill Greaves -
Emma Roberts
Abbie -
Margo Martindale
Donna -
Rob Corddry
Terry -
Jessica Hecht
Stacey -
Shana Dowdeswell
Molly -
Shareeka Epps
Lisa -
Meaghan Witri
Tamra -
Emily Rios
Kathy -
Melanie Hinkle
Mindy -
Rooney Mara
Wendy -
Vanessa Gordillo
Flor -
Connor Paolo
Damon -
Melissa Graver
New Rome Forward -
Clarke Thorell
Prairie Hill Coach -
Rod Brogan
Rick -
Kevin Breznahan
Joel -
Brian Berrebbi
Manager -
Rhonda Keyser
Uno's Waitress -
Sara Chase
Outback Waitress -
William Wiggins
Teenager -
Colby Minifie
Teen Girl -
Colleen Broomall
New Rome Center -
Jennifer Regan
Concerned Mother -
Devin Ratray
Security Officer -
Ed Jewett
Announcer -
Marceline Hugot
Dr. Parsons -
E.J. Carroll
Male Announcer -
Caitlin Colford
Prairie Hill's Center -
Seth Herzog
Mascot -
Lynn Mancinelli
Cheerleader/Dancer #1 -
Pauline Sherrow
Cheerleader/Dancer #2 -
Angelina Aucello
Cheerleader/Dancer #3 -
Robert Keir
Arcade Boy
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All Critics (22) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (10)
In its final lap The Winning Season collapses into a sentimental farce that even Mr. Rockwell, now playing the clown, cannot redeem from cringe-inducing hokum.
Top CriticRockwell does a typically fine job -- he's funny, touching and appalling -- as an alcoholic mess of a former high school basketball coach who's been reduced to washing dishes in a restaurant.
The story deepens through the clownish, heartbreaking exertions of Rockwell's gruff misfit, still working things out at the final buzzer.
A predictable and cliched dramady.
Forget AA; according to the movies, there's no better cure for alcoholism or depression than good ol' precollegiate athletic coaching.
The Winning Season respects its misfits (and its audience) by not stripping away their foibles in the service of sports-movie clichés.
Doesn't win points for originality, but the film keeps to a steady rhythm of entertainment, delivering a few laughs and tears along the way on DVD before it settles into its rightful home on basic cable.
Sam Rockwell's never-ending ability to create intriguing characters proves essential to writer/director James C. Strouse, whose formulaic tale of redemption for a washed up basketball coach would otherwise be instantly forgettable.
Quirky indie sports flick is surprisingly serious, moving.
I want you to see this movie On Demand to witness the most underrated actor in all of the world, Sam Rockwell. That way, he won't have to make another movie like this ever again.
"The Winning Season" teeters hither and thither on its tonal seesaw, never quite sure where its going and often forgetful of where it's been.
Rockwell charms us into giving the film the benefit of our many doubts.
A shaggy underdog worth seeking out, primarily for [Sam] Rockwell's sensational performance.
A mildly entertaining sports flick about a girl's basketball team and a chauvinistic coach who knows a lot about the game.
Aims for both the heatstring-tugging power of sports classics like Hoosiers and the kind of gritty indie drama you might normally see Rockwell in, but falls well short of both.
A film that feels fresh and insightful in a generally pretty played out genre.
Considering its status as merely a puddle of regurgitated elements, The Winning Season is, to be as coarse as its protagonist, the cinematic equivalent of vomit.
A welcome surprise...Rockwell gives a performance that's always funny, never sentimental...this one is worth finding.
Audience Reviews for The Winning Season
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Bill: Listen, you know, kids are stupid.
- Kathy: Yeah, but it's not just the kids.
- Bill: Well, you know, people are stupid. lt starts in childhood and then continues all the way to death.
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