Eddie the Eagle: The 2016 Movie

 Image source: Orville Barlow / CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

If you’re over a certain age then you’ll remember the two biggest Olympic stories, that of the Jamaican bobsleigh team and that of Eddie The Eagle. The first was made into a 1993 movie called “Cool Running”. It’s a great story and all good wholesome family fun. But the unlikely tale of Michael Edwards, who was the sole representative of the UK during the 1988 Olympics in Calgary in Alberta, Canada and his efforts were made into a sweet movie called, of course, “Eddie The Eagle”.

Introduction: Eddie The Eagle: The Movie

Taron Egerton, yes he of the more recent Elton John fame, plays the hapless Edwards. Yes, the movie does take (a lot of) liberties with timelines and locations and facts and…well, it is, as they say, merely “based” on facts. We start with Edwards requiring hospitalization for a year as a small child. Though he aspires to be an Olympic athlete from a very early age, he really wasn’t gifted enough to make the grade. And having a big heart is not enough. He tries out for the British Olympic Ski Team in 1984. But after being rejected, decides that ski jumping is his path to success. The last UK participant of any Winter Olympics for ski jumping was way, way back in 1924, and it was during this ancient competition, that the British record jump of 40 meters was set.

The Edwards Family

Eddie (lets use his movie name from now on) is certainly a determined guy. His father (played by Keith Allen…yes, that’s right, he’s pop singer Lily Allen’s dad in real life) who works as a plasterer is irritated by his sons self belief. But it’s his kind mother (Jo Harley) who has an unstoppable belief in her son. After some back and forth between all family members, they agree to finance Eddie’s training. Eddie The Eagle has never jumped before and he has a one year period to get up to speed to be able to qualify. He moves to Garmisch, in Germany, to train.

Meeting Bronson Sharp

Finding a place to stay in the basement of a cafe which happens to be near the jumping area, he’s in luck in that the owner quickly becomes one of his biggest supporters. More than anything, Eddie needs to find, and then convince to work with him, a certain Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman). Peary was a brilliant and talented member of the US ski jumping team. But his lack of discipline and drinking, saw him lose his place. His own coach is Warren Sharp  (Christopher Walken) who’s practically given up on Bronson and is filled with a nagging disappointment. But when Peary sees just how determined Eddie is to succeed, along with his eternal optimism, he agrees to be his coach and teach him all he can to help the young man make the team. Thus, he was happy as someone who wins one of the best online jackpots.

Wrong Class, Old Boy

When the time finally comes around for Eddie to apply for the team, the British Olympic Committee (who are shown in an awful light) decide that Eddie “isn’t one of us”, in a recognition of classic class discrimination, decide that he can’t take part for safety concerns. But the relinquish and give him an ultimatum; he can’t compete unless he makes a minimum jump of 61 meters. Of course they just pulled any number out of the hat. But Eddie The Eagle is not so easily discouraged. He knows that the committee want to stop him, and it makes him even more determined. By a mixture of luck and a sheer miracle, he qualifies at his very first meet.

A Fantastic Movie

Let’s get one thing out of the way right now; we love the movie! Eddie The Eagle could be dismissed as yet another rags to glory sports movie, which it undoubtedly is. But because the character of Eddie brings so much to the screen, you can’t help yourself but root for him. You know that the script and the director are manipulating your emotions, and yet you cannot but help go with them to the very end. Taron gives Eddie a naivety and an innocence, but doesn’t allow you too make fun of Eddie. You respect his rugged determination in the face of overwhelming odds.

Builds The Tension Perfectly

There are a total of 13 ski jumps in the course of the entire movie. At the beginning, when Eddie The Eagle  attempted his first go, the movie audience audibly groaned. Yet as the film progressed, you could feel their anticipation. By the end, everyone in the cinema was cheering him on. The movie pulls you in by using the actual jumps as a focus point. You can really feel to tension building as we approach each one. To add contrast to the sweet Eddie, Ski jumper Matti Nykänen (Edvin Andre) from Finland is set up to be very rude to Eddie. Likewise the British Olympic Committee are shown as over the top bigots.

Eddie The Eagle: About Values Not Events

From the very beginning, both the director, Dexter Fletcher and the main star Ergerton, said that the goal of Eddie The Eagle was to bring affection and warmth to Eddie’s story. Interestingly, the script had been doing the rounds for 15 years before being picked up. Though the core of the movie is true, both the Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken characters are fictitious. Also Eddie actually trained at Lake Placid, not in Germany.

Edwards Was Moved At The Screening

At it’s first screening, Egerton was sitting next to the real Eddie The Eagle, Michael Edwards. He was admittedly very nervous to see the ski jumpers reaction. At the end of the movie, Egerton said, “He was crying because he loved the movie. He responded to it in the way we hoped he would.” Egerton himself had never skied before making this movie and had to take a literal crash course. Hugh Jackman (who in a previous life was a sports instructor at a secondary school in the UK) was, of course, an excellent skier. “Hugh is a sickeningly good skier and so absolutely good at everything he does.” Egerton also said that we live in a celebrity culture where everyone wants to be the best “… and when someone comes along who isn’t the best but has determination and passion, people connect with that.”

Eddie The Eagle: Leave With A Big Grin

Rotten Tomatoes has Eddie The Eagle at 82%. That’s about right. The film is really part fairy story and part folk tale. The movie is about the ordinary, the absolutely unexceptional guy. He’s been down trodden and bullied. But through a force of will power, he rises above it all. We all know that Eddie came a distant last. But that’s hardly the point. He braved all sorts of obstacles and did what he set out to do. To that end, he really does represent a true and real hero. You’ll be leaving the cinema with a big grin. If you would like to have a big grin at home as well check out our sites to win the jackpot.