This movie is inspired by the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, and I mean "inspired". As long as you understand that this movie is much more fiction than non-fiction--the Jamaican bobsled team in particular, and Jamaican culture in general--you should be able to enjoy yourself.
The plot is sparked off when our protagonist, Derice, fails to make the Jamaican track team for the Summer Olympics (through no fault of his own), but is still determined to get to the Olympics somehow, so he starts trying to recruit people for a bobsled team. His best friend, Sanka, is the first target of Derice's persuasiveness:
Next comes the coach, played by the great John Candy. He helps Derice and Sanka find two more members for the team (who made their first appearances at the track and field tryouts) and trains them for the few months they have until the Olympics. The timing here might be confusing you. Younger readers might not know that both the Winter and the Summer Olympics were held in the same year up through 1992. After that, they started staggering them every two years.
This movie is funny and inspiring in a very '90s Disney way. However, at least for me, it never crosses the line into bad over-the-top territory. Sure, yeah, the four Jamaicans (not to mention the Germans) might be exaggerations that speak in stereotyped accents, but despite that, they still come off as genuine, likable people (except the Germans).
Also, I think it's the only Disney movie to contain the words "two-dollar hooker."
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