Race

Year: 2016
Genre: Sports Movie
Directed: Stephen Hopkins
Stars: Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Eli Goree, Shanice Banton, Carice van Houten, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt, David Kross, Barnaby Metschrat, Shamier Anderson
Production: Forecast Pictures

When I was in high school, I had an English teacher who asked the class to write a short story from the perspective of a famous historical figure; an exercise to get us to understand first-person narrative. Being the resident class smart-a**, I wrote my story from the perspective of infamous science-fiction director Ed Wood struggling to finance Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) commonly dubbed the worst movie ever made. Watching Race was like watching one of my classmates' essay put to the screen. It was quaint, it was obtusely dedicated to a first-person narrative and it was disappointingly derivative.

I was a weird child.

The film is about track and field champion Jesse Owens (James) and the struggles he faced to make it to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Despite being among the fastest humans on earth Jesse faces constant discrimination in his home city of Cleveland, his school Ohio State and track meets across the United States. Despite this though, he remains committed. Aiding him in his "crusade" to show up Hitler is his coach Larry Snyder (Sudeikis) and his girlfriend and eventual wife Ruth Solomon (Banton). Yeah, that's basically it.

We spent so much money on this one shot and dammit we're
using it!

I put "crusade" in quotations because the movie never seems to know or care whether Jesse himself is concerned with Hitler, Nazi Germany and their racial policies. In fact the movie is hardly able to gesticulate what exactly Jesse cares about at all. He's so much of a preeminent figure in this fluffy piece of glorified biography that it's a wonder he's given motivation of any kind. Discrimination at home; he doesn't sweat it. Relationship troubles; solved by the half-way point. A living symbol of hope for the Black community and by extension European Jews; who cares. The movie is clearly more concerned with the destination than the journey.

Aiding us in getting there are two completely unnecessary subplots. One involving the American Olympic Commission led by Jeremiah Mahoney (Hurt) and Avery Brundage (Irons). Mahoney leads the faction of the commission that wants to boycott the Olympic Games because...you know...Nazis. Brundage on the other hand feels the Olympics transcend politics; it also helps that his construction company is receiving sweetheart contracts from Berlin spearheaded by Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels (Metschat). The other subplot involves famed film director Leni Riefenstahl (van Houten) who wants to give the 1936 Olympics the same Wagnerian treatment she gave Hitler in Triumph of the Will (1934). The fact that the powers that be want to elevate Riefenstahl to a similar hero status as Jesse Owens is, let's just say awkward.

Enough running! When do we get to the women's shot put?

What Riefenstahl did for Jesse Owens in Olympia (1938), director Stephen Hopkins attempts to recreate with the slick post-production of a modern feature film. Problem is Hopkins doesn't have Riefenstahl's eye, nor the attention to story details necessary to create anything beyond a made-for-TV movie. Stephan James does as much as he can with the little he's given but doesn't get past second gear. He constantly regurgitates and absorbs the thoughts of others, passively making his way through a plot so overtly made for him that his look of awe when entering the Olympiastadion is about the only interesting moment of characterization. Choosing Jason Sudeikis as Jesse's coach and mentor is a choice so out of left field, it's almost too distracting to enjoy. Sudeikis looks like he won the role after looking in enough Wheaties boxes with his gruff "coach talk" appearing almost comical.

With a loaded a title as Race, you would think this movie would have a little more going for it. Unfortunately it is worse than a point-by-numbers biography about a gallant sports hero. A movie of that caliber would be goodly enough to provide themes, characterization and subtext. Alas the only thing Race manages to fit into its bloated screen time is a very dry hagiography about a man who did some running and got to almost meet Hitler. If only we were all so lucky.

Final Grade: F