Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.
The Bronze has a mean-spirited, raunchy comedy premise that gives it some distinctiveness — the washed-up local celebrity angle is committed to with real edge — but the plot is fairly predictable in its redemption arc beats, hitting familiar sports-comedy marks without much surprise. Melissa Rauch's performance as Hope is genuinely committed and carries the film further than the script deserves, giving the acting a slight lift above average. Cinematography is functional small-town indie fare with nothing memorable. The ending resolves too neatly given how aggressively the film established Hope's toxicity, undercutting the darker tone it built up. Novelty earns a modest bump for its unapologetic nastiness and the specific milieu of faded Olympic glory in a dead-end Ohio town, which feels singular enough to distinguish it from generic sports comedies.