I’ve watched so many raunchy comedies over the past twenty years that I thought I’d seen them all. After all, this was my favorite genre ever since I laid eyes on American Pie back in 1999. Before that movie, I was more into the goofy style of comedy. However, once you go raunchy sex comedy, you simply don’t go back. This subgenre is almost extinct in 2024 as studios would rather play it safe than try something edgy. Don’t worry, the pendulum will swing in the other direction soon enough. While we wait, I recommend we check out this movie as it’s a fucking hidden gem! The Bronze is a hilarious, non-stop laughs raunchy comedy about a foul-mouthed gymnast forced to make a return.
Right from the opening scene, you’ll know that you’re in for a treat. I do not understand why this movie isn’t as popular as Superbad, The Hangover, or any of the other heavy hitters. Additionally, it’s quite similar to the Will Ferrell/Danny McBride style of comedy where everything hinges on a single character. In The Bronze that is Hope Ann Greggory, who once won, you’ve guessed it, a bronze medal at a major gymnastics competition. It’s been many years since that pivotal event in Hope Ann’s life but she’s still hanging on to it feverishly. Her father is begging her to find a job and grow up but Hope Ann likes her life the way it is.
That is until she finds out about a big opportunity that just might help her regain some of her old glory. In the lead role, we have incredibly cute, charming, and feisty Melissa Rauch. You might remember her as Bernadette Rostenkowski from The Big Bang Theory. Imagine Bernadette but cranked to 110 and then fed nothing but methamphetamines and cocaine. The sheer speed of her witty and razor-sharp comebacks had me in stitches. And some of them were so funny that I simply could not stop laughing for minutes at a time. Just as soon as I would stop, a new joke would roll in and the process would begin again. So, it’s safe to say that I loved the script.
The script was written by none other than Melissa herself along with her husband Winston. Beneath all the snappy dialogue lies a much more complex story about family, friendship, love, and our society in general. Moreover, the main character is someone who’s still living in the past, a time when she was popular. I’m sure you know someone who’s still going on about some achievement from over 20 years ago. And that single thing provides that person a basis for their entire personality. Perhaps more interesting is the parent/child sports dynamic. Something that I’ve always found to be walking a fine line between parenting and bloody torture.
I’ve briefly talked about it in I, Tonya, a movie based on actual events and starring Margot Robbie. And it’s also present in Blades of Glory, another sports comedy. However, on the face of it, the relationship between Hope Ann and her father is similar to the one Cartman has with his mother. Before we go any further I must commend Gary Cole on his subdued performance. Young Haley Lu Richardson was excellent as Maggie and it’s no wonder she landed a role in White Lotus. Finally, we have Sebastian Stan, who was not only in the above-mentioned I, Tonya but also Pam & Tommy.
Sebastian did not only almost all of his stunts but he also did not use any doubles for that steamy and funny gymnastics sex scene. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that, there will be one hell of a full-frontal nudity sex scene that you simply have to see to believe it. And just to be perfectly clear Melissa Rauch used a body double for that scene. Despite this, several porn sites still feature that clip telling their visitors that it’s her.
Director: Bryan Buckley
Writers: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch
Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Haley Lu Richardson, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Cecily Strong
Fun Facts: Made with a budget of $3.5 million, The Bronze premiered at Sundance in January 2015 but didn’t hit theaters until a year and a half later.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3859304/
