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I've never really been a fan of Winter sports, so the entry of a Jamaican bobsleigh team into the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary pretty much passed me by. What I am a fan of, however, is a decent comedy film, so the release of "Cool Runnings", supposedly based on the story of the Jamaican Bobsleigh team, was unlikely to do the same.
Sanka Coffie is the best pushcart driver on Jamaica, just about to win his 7th pushcart derby in a row. His best friend is Derice Bannock, who is about to win his place in Jamaica's 1988 Olympic team to compete in the 100 metres and follow in the footsteps of his father, who had won a gold medal in the 200 metres some years before. Unfortunately, the trials don't turn out quite the way he'd expected.
In a desperate effort to represent Jamaica, Derice turns to Irv Blitzer, a former Olympic bobsleigh champion. Blitzer had tried to persuade Derice's father to switch sports, without success, but subsequent events had soured his former love for the event. This is merely the first of many challenges facing the team, as it seems that no-one thinks they should be allowed to compete. The other teams hate them, many in their own country think it's a ridiculous idea and the Bobsleigh Alliance doesn't like Irv, thanks to events in his past. It looks as if their dream is going to be over before it even begins.
Apart from the fairly unusual subject matter, "Cool Runnings" is a fairly standard Disney
film. The characters have obstacles to be overcome, both personally and ones that require them all to pull together as a group. Some of these obstacles are physical, others emotional. Some require a change of behaviour, others a change of attitude.
As fun as it is, sadly the film is a little predictable. When you put four people from a Caribbean island into a winter setting, they're not going to be used to the cold and ice. So, while they're settling in, there are a few predictable moments and jokes, both with the temperature and with the ice underfoot. The personal challenges are much the same in as much as you can see what is likely to happen to each individual character when you get to know a little more about their personal situations.
This apart, though, the rest of the film is pretty good, if not without its flaws. The soundtrack is pretty good, largely made up of chilled out pop-reggae numbers, which are always nice to listen to. The problem with some of the soundtrack is that it can be a little loud in some parts, occasionally overshadowing what the characters are saying. I'm not entirely convinced that using country and western music as an indicator for Canada is quite the right move. It may be that Calgary, where the latter part of the film is set, is a hotbed for country and western, but it seemed like an easy cliché to me.
The performances weren't too bad either. Again there was a little cliché involved, as Doug E. Doug as Sanka Coffie filled a role very similar to Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock in similar films, being a little over the top at times. Whilst this made a refreshing change against some of the other characters, there were a couple of scenes where his fooling around did seem to get in the way a little. The others in the bobsleigh team were really more to the background, although all did well. It was difficult to tell if Rawle D. Lewis' apparent uncertainty as Junior Bevill was due to his character's natural passivity or because it was his first feature film role. For the most part, there was no way of knowing that the four Jamaicans were played by New York born actors. The most important thing is that they work well together and you can believe that they could get together and work together as a team.
It is the most experienced f the cast who turns in the best performance, with John Candy playing the perfect straight man. He had the perfect world weary air for Irv Blitzer, although at the time, being only a couple of years from a fatal heart attack, it may be that this was a natural position for him. But he shows here that he was a great acting talent and you can believe that he is a man who has lost his reason and finds it again, thanks to his team.
Although the film is based on a true story, it's actually better if you don't know the truth behind the film, as they changed so much of reality that knowing what is supposed to happen can get in the way. If you assume this is a complete work of fiction it's better and more enjoyable. The portrayal of Jamaica doesn't seem entirely accurate either, as it makes Jamaica look like nothing more than a village, with a small community and based around a single village. For all I know, Jamaica may really be like that, but I doubt that and it makes things feel a little uncomfortable at the way they've made Jamaica look like nothing more than a tiny place, when there wouldn't be a story without the island.
For all its faults, however, "Cool Runnings" is, more than anything else, a lot of fun. You could quite easily pick holes in the plot, in the performances and in the script. But this is true of a lot of films, very few of which give you the entertainment that this film does. It's a film that takes your emotions on a bobsleigh run, slinging them around between enjoyment and despair with the team's fortunes. Sure, it's better watched when you feel like disengaging your brain and settling in for a bit of fun rather than when you want something to concentrate on.
It's lucky that the film is as much fun as it is, as the DVD is totally devoid of extras, other than some foreign language subtitling. This is a shame, as I've always felt that comedy actors provide the funniest material in terms of outtakes, particularly in how they react to things going wrong and in the commentaries, both of which seem to be almost standard DVD extras these days.
But without these, it's at least good to know that the DVD is available very cheaply, at £5.99 from sendit.com or play.com or at £5.97 from Amazon. For those not minding a second hand copy, the Amazon Marketplace has had copies from £4.30 and eBay has sold them from a penny. Whilst this may never count as one of Disney's better efforts, it's certainly the best film about the bobsleigh you're ever likely to see and there's enough good things in it for it to be worth taking a chance on for those times when all you want is a bit of mindless fun.
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Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Christopher Ettridge, Victor McGuire, Emma Amos, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Elizabeth Carling
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Based on an improbable but true story,Cool Runningsconcerns the Jamaican bobsled team that ... more
competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Director Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon) does a fine job with both the absurdity of the situation (the athletes had never even ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Based on an improbable but true story,Cool Runningsconcerns the Jamaican bobsled team that ... more
competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics. Director Jon Turteltaub (Phenomenon) does a fine job with both the absurdity of the situation (the athletes had never even ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
You'll love COOL RUNNINGS - the outrageously funny hit inspired by the true story of ... more
Jamaica's first Olympic bobsled team. They were four unlikely athletes with one impossible dream. Now, with the help of ex-champion as their coach (John Candy - Uncle ...
Advantages: It's for the whole family, a true story and very funny. Disadvantages: Not all parts of the film are factual but if you visit the website you are given the true story.
carolinesite 05.02.2001 (03.02.2001)
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Review of Cool Runnings (DVD)
![Cool Runnings [DVD] [1994]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78539432.jpg "Cool Runnings [DVD] [1994]")
Sep 8th, 2005
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