I Wanna Fly Like "Eddie The Eagle"

Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman,

Directed by

The Story:

Eddie Edwards (Egerton) is actually a pretty good British skier, but when he fails to make the Olympic team, he checks the rules and realizes that the British downhill jumping ski requirements are very lax, and exploits that loophole to become the team.

This is the story that, alongside the Jamaican bobsled team, made the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics likely the greatest Olympics in modern history.

Or at least the one with the best "feel good" moments from watching that I can remember.

While the backstory of Eddie gets Hollywood-ized, such as the invention of a coach (Jackman) that didn't really exist, the feel-good nature of Eddie's tale comes through strongly.

The real sad take away from this film is that the British, along with most other countries, have changed the rulebooks so much, they have taken away the opportunity for anyone not entrenched in the Olympic money machine to ever replicate Eddie's journey and even get the chance to compete in the Olympics.

And that's a shame, because while America, or at least journalists reporting from the Olympics, are at least obsessed with the medal count, it's the human stories that touch most viewers.

And you don't need to dig to find how this child was raised in 13 broken homes to reach our heartstrings, it's the passion and joy from the athletes that make us gravitate towards liking them.


Final Grade:  B