The Bronze

Coinciding with the Olympics, "The Bronze" was timed for its home entertainment release as a way to ride the patriotic wave of hype and optimism. As the Olympians were competing for the gold, audiences are able to watch a rag tag group of characters chase their own golden dreams in women's gymnastics. Unfortunately, other than timing, there isn't much else to enjoy in the Blu-ray package.

Hope Ann Gregory was America's sweetheart after getting injured during a tournament earned her a bronze medal and a bad attitude. She's emotionally stunted, living in her past glory as a legend in her Midwestern hometown. It's not until she is forced to train the town's newest gymnastics prodigy that she starts to live in the present.

Much of the buzz that came out of this year's Sundance film festival for the film revolved around a particularly acrobatic sex scene. The strategically lit scene between star and co-writer Melissa Rauch ("The Big Bang Theory") and Sebastian Stan shows plenty of skin, but it's also indicative of the problems that rest of the movie suffers from throughout. It's neither sexy, with its outlandish gymnastic moves, and it's too erratically edited to have any rhythm to make it funny. Hope's bad behavior is neither so outrageous that it can be laughed at, nor intelligent enough to work as a satire.

The Blu-ray includes the theatrical trailer and a handful of deleted scenes. All of the scenes make sense being excised from the film, as each of them only further demonstrate the nastiness of Hope's childish personality. There's plenty of that already in the film, and these scenes only further demonstrate how unlikeable she is, especially the scenes that would have fallen towards the end of the film would have been overkill to viewers.

With the special features not adding much into the mix, it's the cast that is the main attraction. Seeing Rauch in a completely different role from her television counterpart is eye opening, while Stan and the always reliable Cecily Strong ("Saturday Night Live") turn in solid performances. There are even a couple of cameos from former gymnasts that are also welcome additions.

"The Bronze" doesn't work on many levels, except for the occasional chuckle. Vilifying the film's most pure character to make Hope look better makes things worse. A film that never quite finds its footing and has trouble sticking the landing, "The Bronze" will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

"The Bronze"
Blu-ray Disc
$25.99
http://www.sonyclassics.com/