ReelBob: ‘Olympic Dreams’ ★★1/2

By Bob Bloom

A movie has problems when its setting is more interesting than its characters.

In a sense, that defines “Olympic Dreams,” a rom-com about two vulnerable people — Penelope (Alexi Pappas), an introverted and self-conscious cross-country skier, and Ezra (Nick Kroll), an extroverted and convivial volunteer dentist.

“Dreams’ ” biggest drawback is that it is simply a series of encounters between two opposite personalities that awkwardly circle each other trying to figure out if they are actually attracted to each other or if they are simply lonely and reaching out for comfort and contact.

Penelope and Ezra push each other, unloading their doubts and fears in such a pedestrian manner, you lose interest in their struggles.

Pappas and Kroll, who wrote the script along with director Jeremy Teicher, fail to provide any emotional peaks that their characters need to climb. The movie is too understated and tame.

At times, the movie plays like a promo for the Olympics, rather than a story of two individuals stumbling to connect.

The movie was shot at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeonchang, South Korea, and utilizes several Olympic athletes in supporting and minor roles. Perhaps Teicher believed that would help bolster the movie, but it actually serves as more of a distraction.

Plus, he doesn’t push Kroll or Pappas to add any excitement to their characters. Sure, they change a bit by the fade-out, but for most of the film, each exhibits a one-note persona.

Penelope, except when she is with Ezra, is basically a solitary figure who, eliminated from her skiing event early in the games, simply wanders around the Olympic Village, desperately trying to latch on to others so she does not feel so lonely.

Ezra prattles on when athletes are in his dental chair, bombarding them with questions about the sport in which they are participating, where they are from or lecturing them on dental hygiene — making his patients feel a bit uncomfortable.

Kroll’s Ezra is living his dream, but he actually emits a somewhat creepy vibe. Or, it may just feel that way because he’s a dentist. And, truthfully, how many people really like dentists?

Teicher uses a cinema-verité style, at times, to make it appear we are eavesdropping on Ezra and Penelope, but it dilutes the intimacy that the film needs to draw us in more.

Admittedly, “Olympic Dreams” is sweet, but the behind-the-scenes sequences in the Olympic Village are more riveting than the semi-romance that is supposed to be the focal point of the movie.

The film’s saving grace is the sincere performances by Kroll and Pappas, who strive to bring an authenticity to their straightjacketed characterizations.

Even at 82 minutes, “Olympic Dreams” has the pace of a marathon, instead of a sprint. The story and characters need more vigor; they should soar. Instead, the movie tumbles and cannot get back on its feet.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

OLYMPIC DREAMS 2 stars out of 4 (PG-13), language, sexual references

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u1zOMk1rXM&t=22s