Sam Rockwell and Emma Roberts‘ beloved sports comedy just landed online for free. Similar to Ted Lasso, the movie follows a cynical, down-on-his-luck man who gets a shot at reviving his career.
The Winning Season has officially arrived on YouTube, streaming at no cost with ad breaks. The offbeat sports comedy combines basketball, family drama, and plenty of awkward moments as a troubled coach takes charge of a struggling high school team.
Sam Rockwell & Emma Roberts star in The Winning Season
Sam Rockwell leads the film as Bill Greaves, a reluctant head coach. The 57-year-old delivers a humorous, grounded performance as a has-been coach trying to rebuild his life and reconnect with his daughter. Roberts plays Abbie Miller, one of the standout players on the team.
The film’s official synopsis reads, “Set in suburban Indiana, the film stars Rockwell as Bill Greaves, an adult misfit recruited by the local high school principal (Corddry) to coach the school’s floundering girls’ basketball team. Initially retreating from what appears to be a hopeless situation, Bill perseveres and manages to help the team and its captain (Roberts) ratchet up its competitive spirit, while the girls offer Bill a renewed life focus.”
Apart from Rockwell and Roberts, the PG-13-rated film stars Rob Corddry, Emily Rios, Rooney Mara, Jessica Hecht, and Connor Paolo among others. Gigi Films and Plum Pictures produced the 104-minute movie.
James C. Strouse wrote and directed The Winning Season. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival before Lionsgate acquired the distribution rights. The studio released the film in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles on September 3, 2010. Because of limited theatrical rollout, the movie did not perform well at the box office.
At the time of writing, the film currently holds a 52% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 critic reviews, reflecting its mixed reception.
Now that the movie is out for free, Rockwell fans can revisit this overlooked sports comedy on YouTube.
Originally reported by Manoj Chekkilla on ComingSoon.
