Film Review: Olympic Dreams Achieves Its Winning Goal
I loved Olympic Dreams because it is a plot-twist to both athletic films and the stories we tell on what it is to make a “dream come true.” Whenever we portray a person or an athlete’s journey to achieving a goal, the movie is a 90 minute trek on the physical, emotional, and mental journey of “making it,” but then what? You get to the Olympics, you win or lose, and 4 years of training is surmised in minutes of a game. Olympic Dreams finds its heart in showing us that the act of dreaming can be as important as the dream itself.
Nick Kroll plays Ezra; a neurotic, but sweet dentist that tries to be a charm with everyone but whose friendliness leaves him as isolated as Penelope (Alexi Pappas). She is a young woman whose life goal to compete in the Olympics ends on its first round. Located in South Korea, both are in a foreign land, literally and figuratively, as they meet each other in an existential crisis. Ezra is on a “break” in his relationship and Penelope is shook over the fact that her dream ended like nothing. Their emotional limbos build their bond, and the audience is mesmerized as they dance the line between friendship, romance, and the sheer beauty of connecting with someone after realizing how disconnected you have been.
Olympic Dreams – Official Trailer I HD I IFC Films
Pappas is excellent as Penelope: bringing a zest and common-ground to both Ezra and viewers who feel for her as she tries to find life after achieving a life-goal. She is smart, wild, charismatic, and using these qualities to sift through her valid, life confusion. Her chemistry is so genuine with Kroll, of whom I was super impressed by, yet unsurprised, at his acting chops. While he is funny as Ezra, this film allows him to expand his serious notes; giving him scenes and nuances that show Kroll can play drama. Ezra is perplexed by Penelope and how she makes him feel alive while, technically, waiting for “permission” to enter back into his old life. Yet, that is the point of Olympic Dreams; you can’tgo back to old dreams. Instead, you have to find new ones.
Filmed during the 2018 Winter Olympics and in the Olympic Village that housed athletes, Director Jeremy Teicher is able to give the film a feeling of unmatched authenticity. You, as a viewer, genuinely feel that Ezra and Penelope are real people who found each other during a real Olympics and formed a surprisingly real relationship. Teicher’s has a way of bringing out new truths to how it is to fall for someone when you are grown and growing. These are two adults that feel true to their ambitiousness, despite not knowing what their next ambition should be. Olympic Dreams comes out In Theaters and On Demand on February 14.
