The Bronze (2016)

"The Bronze" stars Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, and Haley Lu Richardson. Released on March 18, 2016, the film is about a former gymnastics Bronze Medalist whose success is being overshadowed by a young gymnastics star.

The film is directed by Bryan Buckley, who is known for directing the 2012 Oscar-nominated short film, Asad. The first time I started hearing about this film was from the trailer that played before the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy, The Brothers Grimsby. From the moment I saw that trailer, I figured that it's going to be one of those R-rated raunchy comedies. When it comes to raunchy comedies, I always analyze on how well they use their mature humor to get some laughs out of their audiences. Sure, they can be controversial or offensive at times, but if they're done right, these films can become a satisfying good time for the adults. You know, like Deadpool. However, if they're done wrong, then they might wind up being stale, unfunny, and just plain mean. Sadly, this film is the prime example of a raunchy comedy done wrong.

Pros:
The performances were good. Rauch was decent as Hope Ann Greggory.

Decent direction.

Cons:
The story felt formulaic and predictable.

The humor was almost non-existent. A couple of moments were funny, but that's about it.

The film went a little too far with its mean-spiritedness.

The main character, Hope, was very unlikeable.
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Final thoughts: While the performances and Buckley's direction are worth giving points to, "The Bronze" is overshadowed by its mean-spiritedness, its lack of humor, and its predictable storyline. Not only that, but Rauch's character, Hope, has enough crass to make it on my 'biggest jerks in film' list. In fact, this film is so unlikable that it doesn't deserve a gold medal, let alone a bronze medal. I know that sounded a bit harsh, and I apologize. It's just that I've never been so disappointed in a raunchy comedy in my entire life. Would I recommend this film to anyone? Well, that might be hard for me to do, to be honest. All I can say is if you like raunchy comedies, it's worth watching once for its performances and its direction. I also think that a lot of people should look at this film as a learning example of what an R-rated comedy should not be.

D+