Every sports drama film that I have ever seen runs along the same premises—player is either born gifted or trains until they are the best, gets hurt, miraculously recovers and saves the game in the nick of time. Eddie the Eagle is not that movie for one big reason that changes the entire plot: Eddie is not an all-star athlete or even a mediocre one.
The story begins with young Eddie Edwards (Tom Costello Jr, Jack Costello) who wants to go to the Olympics with no particular sport in mind, just to participate. He spends his younger years cycling through sports until his father gets fed up and puts him to work at his plastering company, which is conveniently next to a ski hill. The real plot begins here—when Eddie decides to pursue Olympic skiing. Eddie (Taron Egerton, The Kingsmen), now 22, has made great strides in the sport, but his awkwardness and clumsiness makes him a bother to the Olympics-bound team for Great Britain that he has been training with and gets cut. One television documentary and a ticket to Germany later, Eddie leaves his family, a mother who supports him through and through and a father who disapproves of his dreams and wants him to settle down, to train for the ski-jump and try to make it to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
This movie represents childhood dreams in their purest form. Eddie never really grows older than his 15-year-old self, and the very moment he won his first award convinced him that he could do anything even if it cost him blood, sweat and tears. Watching him take the jumps for the first time is like watching a baby learn how to walk, if the baby skipped learning to crawl and went straight to running. Eddie is constantly reminded that the time to start jumping is when you are “six or seven.” Soon enough he meets the washed-up, former world-class Olympic ski-jumper Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman, X-men), who he will stop at nothing to train with.
At the end of the day, this movie is extremely charming. Eddie is always cheerful, always ready to work and just wants to realize a childhood fantasy. He doesn’t care about the medals, he isn’t in it for the money and he doesn’t even want any recognition. What makes this movie great is that it doesn’t showcase a one-of-a-kind, amazing athlete—just a guy with a dream. Eddie the Eagle is relatable for people who feel torn down or people who just want a nice, family feel good movie.

★★★★☆