Every dream team starts somewhere.|Mar. 09, 2023|USA|124 Min.|PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Description: **Champions 2023 Movie**
**Storyline:**
Marcus Marakovich, a talented but hot-headed assistant coach for a minor league basketball team in Iowa, loses his temper during a game and shoves the head coach, Phil. After leaving the stadium, Marcus gets drunk at a local bar and crashes into a police car while driving home, landing him in jail. The next day, Phil bails him out. Marcus argues with Phil, insisting he was right and that the incident could have been avoided if Phil had listened to him. Phil explains his reasoning and advises Marcus to understand players on a deeper level, recognizing that their personal lives impact their performance. Marcus is then informed that the team owners have decided to let him go.
At his hearing, Marcus is given a choice: serve 18 months in prison or complete 90 days of community service coaching a local basketball team for intellectually challenged players, known as The Friends. He chooses community service and quickly realizes that coaching this team will be both a personal and professional challenge. After the first practice, Marcus accepts a ride home from Johnny, one of the players, only to discover that the driver is Alex, Johnny’s sister and a woman Marcus had a one-night stand with on Tinder.
As Marcus continues to work with the team, he begins to see the players as more than just their basketball skills, forming personal connections with them. Darius, one of the team members, refuses to play under Marcus, leading to the inclusion of Consentino, a previously injured player, back into the rotation. During an away game, the team is kicked off the bus for causing a disturbance, and Johnny calls Alex to pick them up in her Shakespeare-themed RV.
The film explores Marcus’s journey of growth as he learns to relate to his players and navigate the challenges of coaching an unconventional team.
Cast director: Bobby Farrelly
Cast actor: Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson, Cheech Marin, Matt Cook, Ernie Hudson, Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe
Original name: Champions