MYST POST #3: Cool Runnings
Cool Runnings
SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS
I think this might be one of the least PG of the PG Disney movies -- which almost all of them are. From one teammate calling another an "a**hole" (is it silly to censor myself when Disney didn't?) to a "bad mother--," I was pretty surprised!
This movie (mostly) tells the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team to compete in the Olympics in the '80s (the movie was made in the '93). Quite the odd tagline, but it makes for a really inspirational, feel-good story of camaraderie, teamwork, and persistence. I'm not a huge Disney fan, but I'd rather watch this than Frozen 2 any day.
The movie illustrates how each of the athletes, new to bobsled racing, found each other and their coach (John Candy) and form a kind of rag-tag group of characters. The movie takes us through their training, conflicts with their family and community as they make their way to the Olympics, and the racism they face at the hand of the European teams that have dominated the sport for as long as it has been around thus far.
I've always loved John Candy, having first seen him in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (this is one of the first movies I remember watching with my dad when I was little, so he's sort of a nostalgic actor for me), then Uncle Buck and Home Alone. I didn't expect to see him in this movie, and it was a very pleasant surprise. Of course, he didn't have as funny a role as he has in the past, but his compassion for his team and the profession was plenty entertaining.
The movie illustrates how each of the athletes, new to bobsled racing, found each other and their coach (John Candy) and form a kind of rag-tag group of characters. The movie takes us through their training, conflicts with their family and community as they make their way to the Olympics, and the racism they face at the hand of the European teams that have dominated the sport for as long as it has been around thus far.
I've always loved John Candy, having first seen him in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (this is one of the first movies I remember watching with my dad when I was little, so he's sort of a nostalgic actor for me), then Uncle Buck and Home Alone. I didn't expect to see him in this movie, and it was a very pleasant surprise. Of course, he didn't have as funny a role as he has in the past, but his compassion for his team and the profession was plenty entertaining.
NOTES ABOUT CINEMATIC CHOICES
I never really thought to pay any attention to the cinematic choices being made in a Disney movie... I guess I never expect much in terms of actual quality -- it's more about the plot, characters, and messaging. BUT. This movie did make some creative composition choices. One that caught my eye was when the team was training. The director decided (probably alongside the cinematographer) that a montage was the best way to depict the intensity and progress of the team's training. They did this by interspersing clips of each of the four teammates doing pull-ups as their coach motivates (and sort of antagonizes) them from the side.
In the beginning of the montage, these clips provide a bit of comedy. Mostly filled with negative space, the screen is out of focus as you wait for several seconds as a face slowly, shakily, sweatily inches up-screen and comes into focus. Not only did this cinematic choice outline their training regiment, but it illustrated how these men were brand new to the sport and were physically struggling to keep up with it for a while.
The montage cuts to long shots of the team riding (and falling out of) their beaten-up bobsled before inviting us back into their workout room. To show progress over the few years that they train together, the shot is left with negative space for shorter and shorter amounts of time as each teammate gets better and better at pull-ups, appearing in and dipping out of the frame more and more frequently. This builds momentum for the plot and anticipation for the viewer -- they're improving! They're going to the Olympics! They could win!
THE SCENE
So. This is the most dramatic scene, the scene we had been waiting for the whole movie, the scene that would reveal the moral of the rest of the story. The final Olympic race. The team gets into their sled and the excitement in the crowd is palpable, even decades later on my couch in Illinois. The Jamaican bobsled team, comprised of the four goofy, troubled, aspiring, motivated teammates, was the clear and expected underdog until they dominated in the second (and second-to-last) race. After this race, crowd-perception began to shift and everyone had high hopes for this final race of theirs. Once the sled took off, the shot cut to a small box TV in a bar in the team's hometown with scratchy-looking footage onscreen.
What I hadn't realized at the time was that this was actual footage from the actual race by the actual first Jamaican bobsled team. This makes it that much more interesting to watch as their race gets going because they start to go off the rails quickly... The sled bashes into the side of the ramp, the wheels start spinning wildly, the teammates heads start bobbing violently, and soon the sled has flipped in the air, the teammates' helmeted heads dragging along the ice. There's one really awful shot of the steering teammate's head bent at an angle, being dragged and scraped and pressed into the ground roughly by the weight and force of the cart against the track. I really thought the driver died, because his head and neck went through the ringer.
As the sled slowed to a halt, the crowd waited with baited breath as the paramedics on-hand helped flip the sled over. Then, slowly, all four teammates step out of the sled, hoist it up onto their shoulders, and trudge the rest of the way to the finish line. The crowd, stunned, slowly breaks the silence with applause that crescendos until the team's trudge turns into a sort of march; they look around at their opponents, the crowd, and each other proudly as they make their way to the finish line.
It really was a great moment to watch, especially as the USSR team, who had been the most outwardly disdainful towards teammates Yul, Junior, Derice, and Sanka, began to applaud in awe of the Jamaica team. To see the team take pride in themselves, even after their failure, was heartening.
THE VERDICT
I feel like Disney movies can't be graded on the same scale as non-Disney movies. They can be cheesy, and the ending is always predictable, and the character progressions and plot never seem very true to life. But, since this story was based loosely on a true one, it played differently on the screen. Suffice it to say I'm happy to loosen the film rating purse strings for this movie. I'm giving this movie 8/10 Olympic logos on a Disney scale. It comments on real-worldly issues like institutionalized racism and class dynamics in a film geared towards children and teens, exposing them to some grim real-life situations in the context of an uplifting story. (For rating context, I'd give a Disney movie like Toy Story a 6/10.)
I never really thought to pay any attention to the cinematic choices being made in a Disney movie... I guess I never expect much in terms of actual quality -- it's more about the plot, characters, and messaging. BUT. This movie did make some creative composition choices. One that caught my eye was when the team was training. The director decided (probably alongside the cinematographer) that a montage was the best way to depict the intensity and progress of the team's training. They did this by interspersing clips of each of the four teammates doing pull-ups as their coach motivates (and sort of antagonizes) them from the side.
In the beginning of the montage, these clips provide a bit of comedy. Mostly filled with negative space, the screen is out of focus as you wait for several seconds as a face slowly, shakily, sweatily inches up-screen and comes into focus. Not only did this cinematic choice outline their training regiment, but it illustrated how these men were brand new to the sport and were physically struggling to keep up with it for a while.The montage cuts to long shots of the team riding (and falling out of) their beaten-up bobsled before inviting us back into their workout room. To show progress over the few years that they train together, the shot is left with negative space for shorter and shorter amounts of time as each teammate gets better and better at pull-ups, appearing in and dipping out of the frame more and more frequently. This builds momentum for the plot and anticipation for the viewer -- they're improving! They're going to the Olympics! They could win!
THE SCENE
So. This is the most dramatic scene, the scene we had been waiting for the whole movie, the scene that would reveal the moral of the rest of the story. The final Olympic race. The team gets into their sled and the excitement in the crowd is palpable, even decades later on my couch in Illinois. The Jamaican bobsled team, comprised of the four goofy, troubled, aspiring, motivated teammates, was the clear and expected underdog until they dominated in the second (and second-to-last) race. After this race, crowd-perception began to shift and everyone had high hopes for this final race of theirs. Once the sled took off, the shot cut to a small box TV in a bar in the team's hometown with scratchy-looking footage onscreen.
What I hadn't realized at the time was that this was actual footage from the actual race by the actual first Jamaican bobsled team. This makes it that much more interesting to watch as their race gets going because they start to go off the rails quickly... The sled bashes into the side of the ramp, the wheels start spinning wildly, the teammates heads start bobbing violently, and soon the sled has flipped in the air, the teammates' helmeted heads dragging along the ice. There's one really awful shot of the steering teammate's head bent at an angle, being dragged and scraped and pressed into the ground roughly by the weight and force of the cart against the track. I really thought the driver died, because his head and neck went through the ringer.As the sled slowed to a halt, the crowd waited with baited breath as the paramedics on-hand helped flip the sled over. Then, slowly, all four teammates step out of the sled, hoist it up onto their shoulders, and trudge the rest of the way to the finish line. The crowd, stunned, slowly breaks the silence with applause that crescendos until the team's trudge turns into a sort of march; they look around at their opponents, the crowd, and each other proudly as they make their way to the finish line.
It really was a great moment to watch, especially as the USSR team, who had been the most outwardly disdainful towards teammates Yul, Junior, Derice, and Sanka, began to applaud in awe of the Jamaica team. To see the team take pride in themselves, even after their failure, was heartening.
THE VERDICT
I feel like Disney movies can't be graded on the same scale as non-Disney movies. They can be cheesy, and the ending is always predictable, and the character progressions and plot never seem very true to life. But, since this story was based loosely on a true one, it played differently on the screen. Suffice it to say I'm happy to loosen the film rating purse strings for this movie. I'm giving this movie 8/10 Olympic logos on a Disney scale. It comments on real-worldly issues like institutionalized racism and class dynamics in a film geared towards children and teens, exposing them to some grim real-life situations in the context of an uplifting story. (For rating context, I'd give a Disney movie like Toy Story a 6/10.)
Jamaica's Bobsled team makes a compelling story and you wrote a good review! I googled it and cool running's came out before PG-13 was a rating. So it makes sense that the PG seems a little forgiving of the crass nature of some parts of this movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah for your review, it seems to be an interesting movie. I liked the way you expressed your own opinion and ideas.
ReplyDeleteSarah I love your reviews their so interesting! I totally agree that Disney movie have to judged differently then others,theirs a special part of me that believes Disney deserves a little lee way when they produce some "bad/cheesy" movies. I feel horrible rating Disney low, but from what I remember about watching this movie, it followed the stereotypical Disney plot of a quirky rag tag team of misfits on a journey to win. Theirs truly nothing special about this plot but somehow Disney made it magical to my 10 year old eyes.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this movie before now but I'm seriously considering watching it after reading your review! It seems like it contains some similar themes as other Disney films but a much more unique and less filtered plot line. Your review was super well done and I enjoyed reading it from the perspective of someone who normally isn't a Disney enthusiast because I'm not either.
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