Matthew Vaughn doesn’t get enough credit for being a good director. The guy got Daniel Craig 007, created the Deadpool template for success, and rebooted the X-Men. With Eddie the Eagle, he put a VERY British spin on the underdog story. Sure, there’s not a whole lot of nuance, but damn if you’re not a little choked up at the end, you don’t have a heart.
Many broken glasses ago, Eddie Edwards (Taron Edgerton) was an Olympic dreamer with NO talent. Supported wholeheartedly by mum (Jo Hartley) and begrudgingly by dad (Keith Allen), Eddie tried all the summer events and failed only to realize that winter was his calling. After a poor showing in front of the Olympic committee for skiing, Eddie takes up ski jumping in his 20’s as opposed to 6. He gets help from the alcoholic groundskeeper Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former hyped jumper looking for a reason to exist, and the two use each other to achieve Eddie’s dream and Bronson’s redemption.
What’s great about Matthew Vaughn is his style and tone awareness as a director, and Eddie the Eagle succeeds because of these two. On paper, this is the sports underdog story. Vaughn makes it interesting by amping up its Britishness. Each success is painted in FULL context, like an ALL time British jumping record, good enough for dead last in the tournament. Eddie’s sincerity pushing against the British establishment is a gold mine of comedy that Vaughn readily uses to great effect. That being said, the director smartly focuses the movie on the sincere side, with a great synth soundtrack that inspirationally reflects the subject. Eddie’s story is so good that overt manipulation isn’t necessary, and Vaughn let’s the charisma of the character win you over to the point of yourself inexplicably tearing up.
I wish the script could have veered from the formula even a little. The biggest hindrance is in character development. Eddie has chances to shade a little, like when the press takes hold of his story. The story does little things, but nothing to signify evolution. Eddie therefore stays a deity more than a man, inhibiting the impact a little. Also, many of the bad guys are just horrible. Norway’s movie lobby should sue Eddie the Eagle for all the negative press, and the institutional British in power are just awful. What attempts there were to add complexity to the story amount to too little too late.
Taron Edgerton and Matthew Vaughn paired last year in Kingsman, and I smell a strong artist muse combination. Edgerton does look like Eddie, but he certainly has enough acting ability to sell the earnestness and drive of The Eagle. Hugh Jackman played Peary like he played his Real Steel character. Jackman is on autopilot, but clearly having a blast. Keith Allen gets the right amount of prickliness as Eddie’s dad, and Jo Hartley nails the joyful working class British mum. Of the other characters, Edvin Endre is mysterious enough as the star jumper, and Jim Broadbent, Christopher Walken, and Iris Berben have a lot of fun in bit parts.
Sometimes you just want to see someone get a win. Eddie the Eagle is that guy. By placing the story in context, Matthew Vaughn spins the underdog story enough to make the movie feel fresh. As fresh s that cold milk Eddie drinks every morning.