A cornball speech helped me get into Woody Harrelson’s new movie

MASTER ★★★½

(M) 124 minutes

Unfortunately, at this point it looks like we won’t be getting any more of the imaginative bad-taste comedy that brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly have specialized in for many years, and half the joke of which was an obviously unachievable one Taking premise and challenging the audience to go with something.

That’s the approach that brought us 2005 The ringtone, starring Johnny Knoxville as the slacker who pretends to be mentally retarded so he can triumph at the Special Olympics. Officially, the Farrellys only produced this one instead of writing or directing it, but their distinctive touch was unmistakable.

master, Bobby Farrelly’s first solo feature film as director, explores similar themes from a less provocative angle. To be honest, it only has a fraction of the Farrellys’ comic verve in their prime, but it retains the underlying goodwill that has been their secret weapon all along.

Loading

Adapted from a 2018 Spanish film – written and credited to Mark Rizzo – master Introduces Marcus Marakovich (Woody Harrelson), a tiny basketball coach whose career has stalled due to alcohol and anger issues.

Convicted of drunk driving, he is sentenced to 90 days of community service as coach of the Friends, a Des Moines basketball team made up of mentally challenged players.

by draft, master is like every underdog sports comedy you’ve ever seen, with one big difference: it’s rare to see a movie that gives space to the talents of so many mentally challenged actors (Madison Tevlin as Conseula, the only female friend, is outstanding ).