First Hit: It was tough to watch and listen to Hope's (Melissa Rauch) dialogue, however, I think the overall concept held together.
Hope is deeply holding on to the fame she gained by winning an overall gymnastic bronze medal she won in the 2004 Olympics.
Her winning overshadowed other gymnastic Olympians because she severely hurt her ankle on the balance beam but did finish the completion by doing the uneven bars which earned her a Bronze Medal.
Coming back to her hometown she received a hero’s welcome and benefited from perks the town gave her (own parking space in town, free sneakers, and other things) ever since. This even includes a sign of her achievement under the town’s “Welcome” sign.
She doesn't have a job, she steals from her dad’s mail truck, she wears her Olympic warm-up suit each and every day. She’s gained some weight but keeps the hair style, including the bangs she had during her heyday. She’s rude to almost everyone she meets and has a horrible attitude. Watching the scene when she first meets Maggie (Haley Lu Richardson), the town’s new gymnastics super star, she barely looks at her during the entire conversation.
She is challenged, by money, to coach Maggie because Maggie’s coach dies. They end up working together at Ben’s (Thomas Middleditch) gym. There are a few nice gymnastic sequences to watch and if you can get by the raunchiness of Hope, it actually isn’t a bad film.
Rauch holds her character most all the way though the film, but it isn’t a character we can really care about, even at the end there’s an edge that is bothersome. Middleditch is very good as Ben (Twitch). Richardson is almost too naïve as the upcoming gymnast. Gary Cole as Hope’s dad Stan was very good in that he was believable. Melissa and Winston Rauch wrote the screenplay which erred on the side of too raunchy and mean. Bryan Buckley directed this with reasonable clarity and what failed was the script.
Overall: The concept for me worked well but the film’s main character seemed overboard in the role.