ormyama janyka tadashie
Chiquita Palafox
Over the years, there have been some great gymnastics movies, both those that look at the sport of gymnastics and others that just use it as one of the film's plot devices. Some movies feature a prominent gymnast character, others focus on the sport of gymnastics itself, and several documentaries take fans behind the scenes of the Olympic sport. With gymnastics as an organized sport in the United States since 1881 and an Olympic Games sport since 1896, there is a lot of history behind the sport.
Over its history, some of the biggest Olympic heroes have come from the world of organized gymnastics. Names like Simone Biles, Shannon Miller, Shawn Johnson, Gabby Douglas, and Mary Lou Retton have captured the hearts of the country thanks to their amazing feats in the Olympic Games. This has led several movies to try to use gymnastics as a plot device, often resulting in fun romantic comedies. With the recent sexual abuse scandal with the U.S. Olympic team, it has also resulted in some gripping documentaries.
Critics' reviews for A 2nd Chance were not very favorable, mostly calling the film derivative. However, critics and audience reviews also cite the film's inspirational message and family-friendly tone.
A 2nd Chance follows Maddy Cornell, a young gymnast hoping to make it to the big time. With the help of her coach, she may even secure herself a spot on a professional team. Despite its lackluster reception, however, the film does offer something for fans of the sport to enjoy, especially if they have personal experience with competition or professional involvement.
Though seen as a far inferior sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels reboot, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle takes the kick-flying fights even further. Audiences felt that this came at the cost of a strong story but the movie does, however, introduce Lucy Liu's character by showing her in a gymnastics competition.
The movie reunites viewers with the central trio (Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu & Cameron Diaz) as they take on a former Angel gone rogue (Demi Moore). This sequel does offer a few fun sequences, and a gymnastics scene is a logical introduction to the new athletic spy character. It was a box office success and fans of the franchise appreciate it even with a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 41%.
Raising the Bar is a gymnastics movie from 2016 featuring an actual gymnast: Olympic gold medalist, Jordyn Wieber. The movie has a great amount of appeal for those who want a moderately light drama with a focus on real-world issues, such as cyberbullying.
The plot follows a teen who rejected her placement on a U.S. gymnastics team when she and her family had to move. Now living in Australia, she enters a gymnastics competition to assist a friend. Raising the Bar is a great choice for an audience in search of an inspirational tale.
This gymnastics comedy was not a critical darling despite being produced by the Duplass Brothers. Critics and audiences found The Bronze outright uncomfortable, confusing cringeworthiness with comedy. In the end, it was just another film that didn't know what it wanted to be. Even still, it is the go-to choice for those looking for a raunchy gymnastics film.
The plot follows former gymnastics Bronze Medalist Hope Ann Greggory (Melissa Rauch of The Big Bang Theory) as she coasts through life in her hometown. When her former coach dies, Greggory begrudgingly trains her newest pupil, Maggie Townsend.
The fifth and most recent installment of the popular horror franchise Final Destination featured one death involving gymnastics. While it is horrible, the scene is the film's best and most memorable moment. In fact, horror fans tend to think of the fifth installment as one of the best in the Final Destination series.
Final Destination 5 follows a group of teens as they try to escape the systematic game played by Death itself. This time, the narrowly avoided disaster is a crumbling suspension bridge. It follows the same premise as the rest of the series in a good way, and the gymnastics scene is just one of several intense scenes in the film worthy of the price of admission.
Never Been Kissed was a late '90s vehicle for Drew Barrymore. Among many other school activities, it features high school gymnastics. The film more than tripled its budget and featured a cast stacked with future A-listers who were relatively unknown at the time including Jessica Alba, LeeLee Sobieski, and James Franco in his first movie.
The plot follows Josie Geller (Barrymore), a junior copywriter at the Chicago Sun-Times. There, she is assigned to go back to her high school to research the language and mentality of modern teenagers. Before publishing her article, she has to experience high school again, this time in full. Gymnastics might not be a major plot point but it's a good part of the film.
2018's The Spy Who Dumped Me featured a villain trained in gymnastics. More of a henchwoman than anything else, the Russian gymnast also serves as one of the film's more memorable characters. The villain is boosted by the reactions of Morgan (Kate McKinnon) to everything she does. James Bond featured a gymnast love interest in For Your Eyes Only. The Spy Who Dumped Me took this and made it even better and gymnastics fans finally got a memorable villain to identify with.
The plot follows Audrey and Morgan, two best friends who inadvertently get swept up in a globe-crossing caper. Before saving the world, Audrey has to get over the boyfriend who dumped her out of the blue.
If ever there were a film that could be called "a gymnastics movie," it's Stick It. The vast majority of the plot focuses on the actual skill behind gymnastics, and whereas most movies featuring gymnastics cast a glance at the sport, Stick It shows admiration for both the sport and its athletes. The movie also strays into feel-good territory, and while that's not a bad thing, Stick It also manages to inject some realism into the proceedings.
The plot follows a troubled teen, Haley, with an unexplored gift. After getting into some trouble with the law, Haley is sent to a gymnastics academy. There, a tough coach (Jeff Bridges) is going to do what he can to get her back on the right track.
Old School is another movie to feature gymnastics. The third act of this quotable Will Ferrell/Vince Vaughn/Luke Wilson comedy features the central immature trio and their fraternity engaging in Olympics-type events. Among these events is gymnastics, which ends poorly for one character in particular. It's a terrific scene and a fine example of how gymnastics can be used for comedy in a movie.
The plot of this beloved, raunchy comedy follows Mitch (Luke Wilson), an early 30s attorney who walks in on his wife cheating on him. He moves into a house close to a college campus, enlisting the help of Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn) to start an unaffiliated fraternity.
Full Out tells the true story of Ariana Berlin, a 14-year-old gymnast who has Olympic dreams. However, her dreams end up shattered when she ends up in an auto accident that results in multiple long bone fractures and the collapse of both lungs. When she struggles to get her form back and get back to gymnastics, she finds something new to help her recover - a San Diego breakdance troupe called Culture Shock. It's here that she meets the head coach from UCLA and gets a chance to reach her dreams again.
Full Out is a made-for-TV movie, and it shows her struggles after the accident up to her walking on at UCLA, and winning the NCAA championship in college. The movie was a success and even resulted in a sequel in 2020 that focused on a different story, this one of the 2016 Oklahoma Sooners gymnastics team.
Jump Ashin! is a Taiwanese gymnastics movie based on a true story previously told in the 2004 documentary Jump! Boys. Lin Yu-Hsien directed both the documentary and the fictional retelling of the gymnastics team that his brother coached in elementary school. In this movie, Ashin is a young man whose school gymnastics coach has high hopes for his success in the sport. However, Ashin's mother pulls him off the team because one leg is shorter than the other, and she believes he will fail.
This is more of a drama, and much of what happens next is the result of him leaving this dream behind. It leads to him working for his mother at her fruit shop before getting involved in street gangs and crime. When his friend is murdered on the streets, Ashin decides to go back home and rekindle his love for gymnastics, which he uses to better his life. The movie won several awards at the Taipei Film Festival, Golden Horse Awards, and Chinese Film Media Awards.
Hatching is a Finnish horror movie that doubles as a gymnastics movie and a body horror film. The story revolves around a 12-year-old girl named Tinja, who practices gymnastics at the behest of her image-obsessed mother. Her mother, a former figure skater who is now an influencer, demands her daughter work to be the best at everything. However, when Tinja finds an egg from a dead crow, she brings it home and places it under her pillow to incubate it. That starts the horrors of this movie.
Once the egg hatches, it gives birth to a doppelgnger of Tinja who then starts to attempt to take over her life. The doppelgnger begins to violently attack anyone who angers it, including a gymnastics competitor, to allow Tinja to get into the starting lineup on her school team. The movie received very high critical reviews, sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and uses the gymnastics part of Tinja's life to deliver some extremely terrifying moments.
In 2019, a documentary focused on the horrific abuse that Dr. Larry Nassar committed against the United States gymnastics team. It wasn't the most famous documentary about this incident, as Athlete A came out on Netflix one year later. However, the revelations against the doctor and the people who turned their heads while it was happening deserve to be told. What makes this documentary different is that it interviews the people affected by Nassar's sexual assault and horrific crimes.
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