The Apple TV + series is to blame for past sports stories, but Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis are still making up a winning lineup.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: A vengeful ex-wife inherits a professional sports team she hates and, determined to run it into the ground, grabs an inexperienced coach with a ho-hum squad so they can run together worst season ever.
Yes, this is the premise of the movie “Major League” from 1989, a classic for sports comedies, if not a straight classic sans modification, and it is also the basic premise of “Ted Lasso,” the new light comedy of Apple TV + that is … really, really good. While a few superficial tweaks mask how much the latter owes to the former – “Ted Lasso” is about a football team, and the previous owner did not die, he’s just divorced – what makes Jason Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence’s series their own heinous entry into the canon of sports entertainment is the same thing that makes Ted Lasso himself so wildly compelling: attitude.
Originally, Ted Lasso was more of a buffoon; as seen in the NBC Sports ads to prove the coverage of the Premier League, Ted was a blowhard intended to illustrate the mystifying mix of American men of ignorance and confidence, especially when it comes to sports and specifically when it comes to about football. (Ted’s cluelessness about playing the game does not stop him from screaming, or appears as an ‘expert’ in the studio for the sequel.) This instantly recognizable archetype is built for quick jokes, but can be difficult to get over. to fight out three or four seasons. So rather than sticking to this fast-paced character (and producing a boundary-splitting spoof that mocks both versions of football), Sudeikis and Lawrence, along with co-developers Jeff Ingold and Lisa Katzer, have adapted their star into a more relatable American staple: the lovable father type.
The Apple TV + version of Ted is still a former Division II football coach who has never shot a football, but now he’s a bright-eyed, generous, eternally positive person – a leader, a friend, and, yes, a father. . When he enters a room, he barely or literally shakes over; he typically has a gift in hand for whoever he encounters, and if he is abruptly asked to leave, he will “return” the way out the door. It is hard to imagine that anyone is better suited to make such unforgettable optimism not only charming but believable; Sudeikis knows exactly how to stop an attack without dismissing his intentions, plowing forward with encouragement without overwhelming his goal, and, if his mustachioed green is inappropriate, he can keep the aura of a smile hidden behind his straight face. . With all that said, Ted is never a caricature or even an idealistic impossibility (as Leslie Knope could have been in the more exaggerated “Parks” moments); he really feels what is essential to the empathy of the show.
Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt in “Ted Lasso”
Apple TV +
Surrounding Ted are a group of friendly, well-defined characters. Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt, who also represents his role in the NBC commercials) is the quiet, eccentric, second-in-command of Ted, who knows exactly when to push his head coach to a key point ; Nate (Nick Mohammed) is a shy equipment manager who keeps a few clear pieces of football strategy; Jamie (Phil Dunster) and Roy (Brett Goldstein) are the dueling stars of AFC Richmond: one a hotheaded boy who enjoys the footlights a little too much, and the other a graying veteran who clings to past in his shadowy years glory. Juno Temple is the least thoroughly sketched member of a strong ensemble, and she still manages to steal most of the scenes where they are (playing Keeley, an influence on social media dating Jamie).
Then there’s the evil new owner, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham); the de facto villain out to humiliate Ted and run his team into the ground; the female antagonist in a sport dominated by men, just like “Major League.” Except… that’s not really Rebecca’s role here. Yes, her actions support everything that follows, but she is not a cartoon that unites the team to defeat; she is a painful divorce, defined by a sexist culture and therefore isolated. ‘Ted Lasso’ gives her a bow, and Waddingham turns into a sensitive performance that emphasizes what Rebecca feels, even if she does not let her say the words. Plus, with a cast heavy on men, Rebecca and Keeley form the most meaningful friendship.
Juno Temple in “Ted Lasso”
Apple TV +
“Ted Lasso” could benefit from a little more of Keeley and a few minutes of trimming most episodes, but Lawrence makes such a welcoming space, it’s hard to complain about too much. For the same purpose, it makes no sense to moan about a lack of laughter. Most of the comedy comes from the expressive actors as one-off quips who still push the story forward. “You beat yourself up is like Woody Allen playing the clarinet: I do not want to hear it,” Ted says to a shy player. That’s a good line! It is also a line that, with very light adjustments, could be more punctual and thus more noticeable. But that does not reflect who Ted is or what “Ted Lasso” wants to be. Unlike the ads that preceded it, the goal here is not to go viral with deadly one-liners; it is an absorbing, heartfelt crowd-pleaser to deliver with wit and charm.
One of Ted’s early statements that bites him in the ass is that he does not care about winning or losing (or bans, which he can often forget). He sees his job as every member of the team, on and off the field, performing their best. Ted is not a brilliant strategist, and if there is one big mistake in the first season, it is that there are almost no scenes of Ted devoting his time to better understanding football. (It’s implicit that he learns, instead of watching Ted read the books or study a bit of game tape.) This “life coach” interpretation of his job began when he was a child, not professionals, and Ted is forced to finally recognizing that change. Yet his attitude is everything. Ted wins you over just like he does everyone else; you can believe his team wants to play better for him, because you would too. Like so many great sports stories before it, “Ted Lasso” thrives on the old adage that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, but how you play the game. And “Ted Lasso” plays the right way.
Quality: B +
“Ted Lasso” will premiere its first three episodes on Friday, August 14 with new episodes airing weekly on Apple TV +.
Sign up: Stay up to date with the latest breaking movie and TV news! Sign up here for our email newsletters.
