Grade: A-
Verdict: Charm and cheese make for a fun ride, only helped by the dedication to sports movie formula of “Eddie.”
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In this age of movie blogs and angry Twitterers, it’s easy to hate on formulaic movies. Saying “that movie stunk, it was too by the book” is a standard quip from would-be critics who worship the narrative chutzpah of “Pulp Fiction” and “Fight Club.” It’s annoying because they’re not wrong—formula’s not ideal. There are plenty of formulaic movies that are straight up terrible, easily citable evidence for the awfulness of cookie cutter filmmaking.
Sometimes we forget that formulas exist for a reason: they work. Used the right way, a formulaic movie has a pretty good chance of pleasing an audience with precise emotional manipulation. If the base text sucks, yeah, you might end up with a bad movie on your hands, but with the right story and a lot of love a formulaic movie can still be good.
Don’t believe me? First think back to “Star Wars” or any Disney movie ever, then get to a theater and see “Eddie the Eagle”. Dexter Fletcher’s biopic about a clumsy dreamer who became Britain’s first Olympic ski jumper is exactly the kind of movie that works within its formula.
The trick is archetype: take hero, sage, and villain, then mix them around a bit so the flow is Happy-Sad-Happy. This is all skeleton, the meat of the movie will determine whether it’s actually enjoyable, but as long as it’s not complete nonsense it’s bound to get an audience grooving.
Unsurprisingly our titular character is “Eddie”’s hero, and he’s the main reason for its appeal. Actor Taron Egerton doesn’t try to make Eddie into anything but a humble, dedicated goober. Formula needs characters you can rally behind, and Eddie’s eager flailing powers the film through occasional sluggishness.
Hugh Jackman’s drunken ex-jumper comes in as his sage, albeit a sloppy one. He’s no Yoda, but he performs his function, becomes Eddie’s trainer to guide him to victory—or his version of it, anyway.
They’re up against an unending stream of Villains (emphasis on capital V) who go out of their way to kill Eddie’s dreams of grandeur. The sheer number of people who want to ruin this poor kid is almost weird, usually one Villain’s enough, but I won’t fault it for wanting to up the ante.
Tone is what really brings “Eddie” up from meh to applause inducing, though. It embraces goofball schmaltz, and its lightheartedness makes it a charming watch. It’s set in the 80s—the real Michael Edwards went to the Olympics in 1988– and overflows with that vintage pastiche that seems to be making a comeback (“The Guest”, “Ping Pong Summer”, everything to do with “Wet Hot American Summer”). The throwback is loveable, smeared with self-aware cheese.
All in all, “Eddie the Eagle” lets its giddiness soak through its formula. It’s sappy fun, archetypes and all. So the next time your great uncle knocks a movie for sticking to the book, remember that the book is a well-tested guideline for effective storytelling. If it uses it well, don’t judge. Just enjoy.
