The Bronze

The Bronze is a 2015 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Bryan Buckley and written by Melissa Rauch and Winston Rauch. It was produced by Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass through their Duplass Brothers Productions banner. The film stars Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Cecily Strong, Haley Lu Richardson and Dale Raoul. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2015, and was theatrically released on March 18, 2016, by Sony Pictures Classics. Plot Former gymnastics bronze medalist Hope Ann Greggory has been living off her celebrity status in her hometown of Amherst, Ohio, but is otherwise unemployed and frequently steals money from packages and letters in her father's mail truck to support herself. When her former coach Pavleck suddenly commits suicide, a letter arrives addressed to Hope stating that if she can guide Pavleck's best student, a young gymnastics star named Maggie Townsend to the Olympics in Toronto, she will receive a $500,000 inheritance. Fearing that Maggie's success will eclipse hers and take away her meal ticket, Hope instead plots to sabotage Maggie's training by feeding her junk food and a shake laced with marijuana. Maggie performs so poorly that arrogant former Olympic gold medalist Lance Tucker, the team coordinator who resents Hope's celebrity on account of her winning an inferior bronze medal (which she won despite a career-ending injury), attempts to force her mother to fire Hope. When Hope learns she will forfeit the inheritance money if Maggie does not succeed, she grudgingly accepts her new role as a coach. Along the way, she starts a romance with assistant coach Ben Lawfort, nicknamed "Twitchy" due to his involuntary facial spasms. Hope's efforts eventually pay off when Maggie qualifies for the Olympic Games. However, she is shocked to discover that Pavleck's gym is set to close because her old trainer killed herself after going bankrupt. Upon hearing the news, Hope's father confesses that he was the one who wrote the letter, hoping to force his daughter to finally do something meaningful with her life. After a heated exchange, Hope gets drunk and ends up having sex with Lance, leading a heartbroken Ben, who witnessed the act, to break off their relationship.