{"id":8872,"date":"2022-03-04T23:04:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T04:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=8872"},"modified":"2022-03-04T23:04:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T04:04:43","slug":"tv-review-hbos-winning-time-the-rise-of-the-lakers-dynasty-tells-an-engaging-sports-story-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=8872","title":{"rendered":"TV Review \u2013 HBO\u2019s \u2018Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty\u2019 Tells an Engaging Sports Story for All"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who doesn\u2019t love a good comeback story? Knowing that things ultimately turn out well for the underdogs isn\u2019t usually a detractor because watching them go from nothing to whatever celebratory accomplishment they achieve is the real reason to tune in. HBO\u2019s newest series, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty<\/em><\/strong>, foretells its subjects\u2019 fate in its title, but it\u2019s much more than just a feel-good sports tale. Its mix of inventive storytelling and a serious injection of humor makes for a tremendously entertaining journey that should appeal equally to basketball fans and novices alike.<\/p>\n

Winning Time<\/em><\/strong> sets its tone from its opening moments with Jerry Buss (John C. Reilly) as its narrator. Buss is a man who has made his money from a past in chemistry and real estate investments, and now he has his sights set on the Lakers, a team that hasn\u2019t done well in a number of years and whose fortunes he is determined to change. Though he can\u2019t quite make the payment he promises, which involves the Chrysler building, he forges ahead nonetheless through creative maneuvering, showing that spirit of perseverance and ingenuity that has gotten him to where he is thus far.<\/p>\n

\"Winning
John C. Reilly and Quincy Isaiah. Photograph by Warrick Page\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A key part of Buss\u2019 plan for success comes with a name that even those with only a passing knowledge of anything to do with sports will recognize: Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah). The Michigan native is an option in the NBA draft, someone with an eager attitude but also aware of his worth, which puts him at odds with his city employee father (Rob Morgan) and those ready to low-ball with an offer that he is expected to readily accept. Buss sees something in Johnson and is set on convincing him that this is where he needs to be, even when he begins to doubt his own ability.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see the imprint of director and executive producer Adam McKay, an Oscar nominee this year for writing Don\u2019t Look Up<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, on the pilot, with quick cuts and engaging introductions to new characters, with an enthusiasm for speaking directly to the audience to provide a little bit of extra information that wouldn\u2019t otherwise be apparent. This show is a fast-paced piece of entertainment, one that seeks to introduce many colorful players not just on the court and track a remarkable turn of fortune that isn\u2019t so much luck as it is faith in those whose abilities not everyone can see.<\/p>\n

\"Winning
John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, Kirk Bovill. Photograph by Warrick Page\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is no shortage of talent in front of the camera to bring to life the adaptation of Jeff Pearlman\u2019s book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s<\/em><\/strong>. Reilly is an underused leading man, memorable earlier on in his career for singing Mr. Cellophane<\/em> in his Oscar-nominated turn as an ignored husband in Chicago<\/em><\/strong>. As Buss, he\u2019s able to reach a happy medium between his reserved dramatic roles in films like Cyrus<\/em><\/strong> and Terri<\/em><\/strong> and his looser, sillier takes in comedies like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story<\/em><\/strong>. He\u2019s charming and immensely watchable as Buss, even if there\u2019s not inherently all that much to like in the character.<\/p>\n

Stars who appear in the first episode alone include Jason Clarke, Gaby Hoffman, Brett Cullen, and Molly Gordon, and there are plenty more whose arcs begin in successive episodes. The casting is top-rate, and the best evidence for that is in Isaiah, an actor with one previous credit, for a short film. He has a natural way about him, one that makes him a perfect fit to play a star in the making. His story \u2013 and this show \u2013 is about more than reliving great sports moments from history, gleaning involving comedy and decent drama from a saga that could easily have reserved only the attention of diehard basketball fanatics.<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n