'Goat' isn't going for great, but OK is still good
Sony
What does athletic greatness actually look like? Is it just results plus longevity, multiplied by some intangible essence? Minus no devastating injuries? Even “Air,” the very good movie about supposedly knowing for sure that Michael Jordan would be Michael Jordan before his pro career started, can’t quite define the undefinable.
“Goat,” an aspirational sports tale the about the titular, basketball-loving animal and more broadly, sort of, the acronym that’s become so ubiquitous as to become nearly meaningless, isn’t much interested in the heart of all that. But how high can we really expect a major-studio animated movie for kids to aim? Good animation, reasonably uplifting story, absence of obnoxious and desperate lunges at humor — a mid-range jumper counts for the same points as a 360 dunk.
Produced by Steph Curry, “Goat” follows Will (Caleb McLaughlin) as he miraculously lands on his favorite team, the Vineland Thorns, thanks to a viral video of him “breaking the ankles” of league villain Mane (Aaron Pierre) in a one-on-one pickup game, which clearly professionals do all the time. Never mind that the video was very deliberately edited; Will’s mostly a publicity stunt for the team — the plot mostly resembles “Rock Star” meets “Space Jam” except for the agenda of Thorns owner Flo (Jenifer Lewis), which is straight out of “Major League” — which struggles to win as the legendary career of its star, Jett Fillmore (Gabrielle Union), seems to be on its last legs.
I love that Will’s favorite player is a female athlete and don’t love that we never have a sense of why she’s his favorite, beyond just being nicer than Mane. I love that Will’s game very much resembles Curry’s and don’t love that the skepticism about a “small” making it in a game of bigs feels so generic, even if that was a hurdle Curry had to overcome too. I’m glad that there’s no shoehorned-in love interest (cough, Lola Bunny) but also don’t get much from the roster of one-dimensional supporting characters (including Nicola Coughlan as an ostrich, Nick Kroll as a Komodo dragon, and Curry himself as a giraffe). The narrative is mildly affecting but unmemorable, less interested in originality or investigating what it takes to be the best (Jordan, obviously, was a ruthless competitor and not necessarily everyone’s favorite teammate) than running the plays that many other movies have shown to work.
But, hey, it’s fun-ish, and do you want a thought-provoking discussion, or do you want to see me sock a few dingers?
B-
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