****
Eddie has always dreamed of going to the Olympics, but when he is dropped from the skiing team, it looks as though his ambition will never be. Determined to go to Calgary and be Great Britain's first ski jumper in nearly sixty years, he sets about teaching himself the tricks of the trade.
When was the last time you smiled a big, goofy smile in the cinema? A proper grin? If it is a cinematic masterpiece you're looking for, Eddie the Eagle is not the film for you, but if you're looking for something heart-warming, good-natured and unashamedly feel good, you'd be hard pressed to find a better alternative to Dexter Fletcher's latest. As proven by his last film, Sunshine on Leith, Fletcher is someone who looks for hope and joy, even when the odds might be stacked against you, and never were the odds more against anyone than Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, a plasterer's son who wanted to be an Olympian. Taking on the eponymous character is Taron Egerton, who manages to play Eddie not for laughs, but as someone whose ambition and determination is so inspiring, you feel a little lump in your throat. As he stares out at the world through thick glasses, you really want him to achieve. Egerton's performance is littered with little nuances that never feel exaggerated or played for fun, and you can't help but be absorbed into his positivity and drive.
This could easily have been a film that made Eddie the butt of the jokes, but luckily, it doesn't. Whilst it is funny, we are not laughing at Eddie and his ambition, but rather the situations in which he finds himself, as well as the humorous relationship between he and his 'coach' Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman). The Peary character is a fictitious one, cleverly inserted into the story to give Eddie someone to spar with, and it is within this central relationship that the true heart of the film lies - with two underdogs, whom no one expected anything from, proving the world wrong. Jackson channels all the gruffness of Wolverine into the role, mixed with disillusionment with the world and the sport from which he fell from grace - he and Eddie are able to learn from each other, and it's actually quite touching.The mismatched duo provide all the classic clichés, including several hilarious training sequences lifted straight from sporting films of old, as well as the 'heavy drinker/non-drinker' scenarios you have come to expect from an odd couple pairing.
Obviously, it's very cheesy in places and the script can feel a little clunky at times, but you forgive the film that for bringing such an inspiring story to the screen. Come the end, you will have inwardly fist-pumped more times than you can remember, and if you don't get a little choked up in that final scene, you're most likely dead inside.
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