The Winning Season Reviews

Sam Rockwell and Margo Martindale are excellent but the film is an ordinary impowerment story that's been done a million times. It does have a positive message about being true to who you really are though. Not a bad film but very average.

I didnt expect to like this movie. The start was a little slow, and I wasn't sure how well put together this movie was going to be. Before too long, however, I was all on board! Very dry, quirky, understated humor here, which seems to be Sam Rockwell's forte, and I love that. The girls were fantastic. Just an all round fun Independent film.

It took a bunch of girls to make him man up.

Great Film! This is not a bad film at all, It was shockingly impressive and good. Sam Rockwell was so hilarious and into his role, he's a very talented actor. He seems to be the reason why this film is pretty good. He's basically a drunken asshole, very unlikable, but he completely draws you in so there's a real emotional connection for the dramatic elements. And as he has demonstrated before, his physical comedy antics are perfect making the comedy scenes pretty funny. "The Winning Season" has been done many times before, but here they managed to do it without being cheesy, while providing quality scenes of drama and comedy. If you like the genre, it is certainly worth a look. Highly recommended!

In a Hoosier town, boys' basketball is king. Bill is a former athlete and high-school coach who drinks too much, rarely sees his daughter from an old marriage, and busses tables at a local cafe. A friend who's now a principal offers him a job coaching girls; Bill takes it without much spirit. Six come to practice; one has a broken foot. They're awful in their first game, and Bill has to figure out, with help from Donna, the school's burly bus driver, if he actually can coach girls. They respond, and Bill suddenly has a family of sorts, just as his own relationship with his daughter worsens. With a winning season in reach, will Bill blow this chance?

Cast: Sam Rockwell, Emma Roberts, Margo Martindale, Rob Corddry, Jessica Hecht, Shana Dowdeswell, Shareeka Epps, Meaghan Witri, Emily Rios, Melanie Hinkle

Director: James C. Strouse

Summary: Searching for a coach for his hapless girls' basketball team, school principal Terry (Rob Corddry) turns to his friend, Bill (Sam Rockwell), a divorced, drunken dishwasher who isn't even involved in his own daughter's life. But Bill's life changes as he bonds with the team. He develops a special connection with team captain Abbie (Emma Roberts), and while the girls start winning, Bill and his players still have a lot to overcome off the court.

My Thoughts: "This is a great dark quirky comedy. I really enjoyed the relationships the girls formed together. How in the end, they had each other's backs and created a sisterhood. It's kind of like a basketball version of "Bad News Bears". Sam Rockwell did a great job as Bill. He started off as an asshole but ended being a great male figure for these girls that he hadn't been for his own daughter. They taught each other a great deal in the movie and it is a great inspirational story. All the girls were great in the film. A good film to see with your teenagers."

The Winning Season is a Bad News Bears rip off in every way. A coach who has past experience in the sport but never fulfilled his potential takes over a terrible team. He's a drunk and doesn't really care about the team at first. But throughout the season he starts to and his team begins to win, while he tries to forge a relationship with his daughter. The negatives of this movie are that it's cliche, predictable, and poorly acted by a few of the young girls.

With everything I just said in mind, I still didn't hate this movie. I actually liked it.... I think. Sam Rockwell is good in everything he does and this in no exception. I'm also a Rob Coddry fan and even though he doesn't have a big role, his presence alone helped the movie. I'm also beginning to like Emma Roberts, although I don't find her acting to be great. She has a really likable way about her.

Not a great movie or probably even good one, but it's entertaining and it does have some heart.

"It took a bunch of girls to make him man up."

A comedy centered on a has-been coach who is given a shot at redemption when he's asked to run his local high school's girls basketball team.

REVIEW
At least The Winning Season knows that the whole down-on-his-luck coach and group of misfit girls basketball team who learn about life and winning together type of story has been done before. They did unfortunately follow the exact same formula, but with a hint of whimsy and self-awareness, it's above average for the genre. Emma Roberts and the other girls comprising the team actually come across as real teenage girls. I found them cute and funny. As a big fan of Sam Rockwell, he seems to be the reason why this film is pretty good. He's basically a drunken asshole, very unlikable, but he completely draws you in so there's a real emotional connection for the dramatic elements. And as he has demonstrated before, his physical comedy antics are perfect making the comedy scenes pretty funny. The Winning Season has been done many times before, but here they managed to do it without being cheesy, while providing quality scenes of drama and comedy. If you like the genre, it is certainly worth a look.

Rockwell turns this otherwise beaten-to-death-story into a memorable film full of several perfect moments including a nice balance between comedy and drama. Emma Roberts also shines in the midst of a no-name female cast.

Just another "coach saves the day" movie minus the inspiration and plus a bunch of stupid comedy. I watched about half an hour of this and couldn't put myself through any more of it. Don't waste your time.

This was a rip off version of the Bad News Bears. The plot was very similar from the drunk coach who doesn't seem to like his team, to the remarkable comeback. As much as I would like to believe it, this story just can't happen and is not made believable. I don't understand how a drunk can turn a team of five or six girls into a championship caliber team in just one season. This relationship with the players and the coach seems to magically come together and there is very little back story on Bill and his marriage which occasionally made parts of the movie confusing. A decent performance by all, but certainly does not surpass any expectations.

This is a nice heart-warming movie about a girl's basketball team and their alcoholic coach overcoming many adversities. They may have a winning season, but it isn't the usual cliched ending this time around. Rockwell was hilarious as he played the school mascot to sneak his way in to the girl's final game.

Automatically gets two stars for Mr. Rockwell.

why was this made? no one seemed too bothered and it will be quickly forgotten.

Totally by the numbers underdog sports movie that checks the expected boxes and adds nothing new.. and i mean nothing new at all. Yet it was enjoyable because Rockwell is such a great actor who brings soul to a soulless script. Margo Martindale does much with her generic character too and raised a few smiles.

The loser kids are well acted but almost characterless, with broad stroke stereotyping, and utterly undeveloped. The brave coach is a loser who needs the kids as much as they need him. That i enjoyed this movie was a miracle.. but i did.. is there nothing Rockwell can't improve by his mere presence?

Although genres such as the vampire movie reign supreme in their ability to generate criticism over repetition, the sports redemption may just top it. Regardless of the back story, the zero to first, Cinderella tale surrounding a sports team has been played out what always seems like one too many times. The Winning Season doesn't offer anything new. Bad team, down-and-out coach, unlikely bond, redemption/salvation/what-have-you. Yet, even with familiar problems and unnecessary, radical images of what it's like to be a teenage girl, Winning Season comes through when it needs to.

Sam Rockwell plays Bill, a former basketball star and divorced father of a teenage daughter who has been beat down by life's disappointments and stresses. When school principal, Terry (Rob Corddry), offers him the job of coaching the girls varsity basketball team, Bill grudgingly accepts. As expected, things start off shaky, but improve steadily as the story goes on.

Those looking for a narrative that avoids the traditional route will be disappointed. Winning Season travels a route so often traveled that it's borderline predictable when the moments of trouble arise; however, the film does a decent enough avoiding cliches and cringe-worthy moments of pure sap, which are commonplace in these sports redemption movies. While there's not a whole lot of depth behind the characters and the majority are thrust upon with typical or ridiculously out-of-place problems, the film runs on a real level that doesn't try to sugarcoat things or make situations seem less real than they'd be if you witnessed them yourself.

As previously mentioned, the problems surrounding the teenage girls and our divorced lead are a bit played out, but that doesn't exactly mean they're illogical; rather, Winning Season shows the sometimes easy, sometimes difficult solutions to these problems. For the beat-up, drunken Bill, his actions have real consequences that he has to live with. For the spirited Abbie (Emma Roberts), her love life isn't simple, but it's just a matter of growing up and finding equal ground. For Tamra, daughter of Terry, her sexuality is confusing and an obvious subject of stress. All problems are tackled in a proper manner with resorting to ridiculous measures to make sure everything works out, both on and off the court.

The obvious star of the show is Rockwell, whose acting can produce both disgust and sympathy. His appearance is as telling as his foul, rude behavior. At the same time, it's his exact rough edges that make his formed relationship with his team that much more touching and real. The chemistry between Rockwell and his young co-stars is powerful, though how they got from the point of disliking him to loving him is somewhat blurred.

The Winning Season is grounded. It knows how to make an impact, but sometimes is bogged down by its worn out genre. With talented players and enough goodwill, heartfelt interaction and realism to go around, this film just barely emerges victorious.

Sam Rockwell can never do wrong. A very heart warming story with some good laughs.

I like to scroll through the free movie channels dish network provides from time to time and dvr some movies I think the boy/girl will like, or that I think might be worth 90 minutes, and I came across this unusual sports movie with Sam Rockwell. This guy plays the funniest deadpan characters with attitude (brightest spot of Iron Man 2), and carries this movie. The Winning Season is about a down and out guy given a team of 5 varsity high school girls basketball players to coach. There are plenty of the standard knocks on girls hoops to be expected, but Rockwell puts a funny spin on them. Add in some pretty funny performances by a few of the players and you have a movie that will make you laugh. If you think girls basketball is the end all, skip it. If you have a girl playing bball, or ever watched it, chances are you'll find this pretty funny. I did.

This isn't quite Bad News Bears, but it's close. Rockwell does his usual amazing job. He's a fun loser to watch. He's a fun loser to get mad at for not being able to get it together, but the girls here are more than a little fun.

Another sports dramedy. That's about how I feel every time I see a sports themed movie and there aren't any that immediately come to mind that stray very far from this movie's story arc. I gave this one an extra half star because Sam Rockwell is always fantastic, and the girls acting wasn't awful. This movie doesn't break any new ground but it definitely has a lot of heart.

A cliched story that rises on the performance of Sam Rockwell and the supporting cast.