There metaphor of sport in the cinema never gets old. And also Samples, directed by Bobby Farrelly and in theaters this week, falls into the list of rewarding redemption stories of the last ones. No pity or condescension, though. Here each character is called by name and has his own peculiarities.
Woody Harrelson is the classic egotistical basketball coach, Marcus Marakovich, who works for a minor league but dreams of the NBA. Unruly and quite hostile to the rules, ends up in trouble and is serving three months of social services on a basketball team whose players have cognitive impairments or disabilities.
The coach (played by Woody Harrelson), who has now become a meme due to the backlash on the pitch, has no other choice but considers the task well below his means. He evidently underestimated – as many do – the abilities of these guys.
Until that moment his life was made up of attack or defense schemes and the occasional flirtation: he had no intention of getting to know the players off the field. So far, precisely, why The Friends is a special needs team but also from special talents. The humanity of these young people is something that doesn’t belong to him at all because he never thought of becoming attached to someone or something, even if it were a place.
As is often the case, it is the teacher has to learn more than the pupils. So here’s a brilliant comedy, at times light and disengaged, to launch a message of real inclusiveness without rhetoric.
In a world like ours that points and distances what is different or breaks the mold, it doesn’t hurt to immerse yourself for a couple of hours in the life of those who live there and even find their happy space.
The protagonists are not poor people to be pitied, to be taken by the hand and accompanied step by step. No, they are human beings with different abilities and certainly outside the box, but who know well the sense of teamwork, friendship and empathy.
Fortunately the film almost entirely spares us the bullying scenes and discrimination and glosses over the cruelty of the world to instead emphasize how good is contagious and how much diversity is wealth. Even when we don’t realize it or when we turn away.
Campioni does his thing with decorum, dignity and great simplicity. He tells a clean story that gets straight to the heart of the audience but without resorting to emotional blackmail. He really doesn’t need it and Woody Harrelson confirms that he knows how to do everything, from getting off the arena to the Hunger Games to cheat in world vision, as in Now you see me. What to ask for more?
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
