MovieChat Forums > The Gabby Douglas Story (2014) Discussion > Seriously?

Seriously?

posted 10 years ago by danimal09752
37 replies | jump to latest

I'm a gymnastics fan. That said, the ONLY reason this movie gets made is because it's a black girl that won. Nastia Luikin did the same thing back in '08. And being that her family started out in Russia, moved here, etc etc, it would make a far more interesting movie than the typical "black girl goes through self doubt to make it to the top" movie that's been made 1,000 times already. Love the sport. Happy Gabby won the gold. Tired of hearing the "first black woman to win it" routine. Won't be watching this farce.

[–] mmw_rocket 10 years ago

Nastia didn't do the same thing. The team failed to get gold. Douglas is the first American to get both team and individual gold.

[–] perfectjade 10 years ago

smh indeed. did they wait til casey anthony and jodi arias were 50 to do a movie? gmafb!

It weakens us to not give our enemies the respect they deserve...

[–] LnineB 10 years ago

You do know that she in fact didn't do the same thing in 2008 hince the reason gabby was the first American to do so.

[–] SGlow1417 10 years ago

I agree to this to some degree - I'm not discounting that Gabby was the first AA woman to win the all around as well as the first to win team and all around, good for her. But this movie doesn't even really touch on either of that. It's basically the typical "follow your dreams" story with some gymnastics and a HINT of race thrown in. In fact everyone on this thread is getting so touchy about the whole race issue when this movie doesn't even address it. At all. Even times where other gymnasts looked down on Gabby/her family, it was because of her height or her mom wearing a robe while standing in the front lawn. And a lack of funds does not necessarily have to do with race, and if it did in Douglas' real life this movie did a bad job portraying it.

I understand it's a lifetime movie so what can you really expect but I don't think Gabby's career is far enough for her to deserve a movie like this - I will admit I am not the biggest Gabby fan compared to other gymnasts out there, but she does have somewhat of an interesting story and yet this movie was very bland and not well done. They didn't explain why her father never contacted them after they went to her grandmothers, how her mother's health turned out (or what was even wrong with her for that matter), how she felt once she finally got to the Olympics (how did she feel once she got her medals? How did her family's life change?) etc.

[–] OmeOmi2 9 years ago

I think it was a great movie and didn't get a racial vibe out of it at all.

I'm not a big fan of "Look at the black person go!" or "Look at the woman go!" kind of stories. I think they're insulting. In this day and age, considering someone's sex or color is just ridiculous. That needs to end. We need to just be Americans.

I get spreading women in athletics because women cannot compete with men. That's just sensible. But it doesn't have to be a big thing. I didn't get a patronizing "Big Black Whup" or a "Big Woman Whup" from this movie at all.

It was just a lovely little movie. I enjoyed watching it and felt inspired when it ended.

I hope more people see it.

[–] BrandiStarBright 9 years ago

I tend to agree with the op. I was a gymnast and I remember the 96 summer Olympics. Dominique moceanu was the youngest olympic gymnast that won the gold. She was the star. But there was Dominique Dawes, kerri strug who helped them win the gold! But that was an amazing team.

[–] C.S.Wood 9 years ago

I think the OP had a decent argument until:

"black girl goes through self doubt to make it to the top" movie that's been made 1,000 times already.

Really? 1,000 times? Movies about a black girl who makes it to the top? You sure you didn't mean to leave out the "black" part and replace "girl" with "guy"?

My question is if this had been a movie about Nastia Luikin would you have felt the need to make this post? If this had been a movie about a young male athlete making it to the top, would you have made this post?

And once more, this was a Lifetime movie. This wasn't a big theatrical movie like Invictus, Moneyball, Million Dollar Arm, Rush, When the Game Stands Tall or a dozen other big budget sports films that do not fall into your 1,000 estimate featuring black girls.

Don't try to cash in love, that check will always bounce.

[–] sweetcar0line 9 years ago

The movie's portrayal of her first gym and her coach "not knowing how to teach her right" is disappointing and inaccurate. The gym took her on for free because her mom couldn't pay. The agreement was that the gym would be paid eventually, when Gabby's career took off. Gabby reneged on the deal when she wanted to move on to bigger and better things, slandering the gym and accusing them of racism when they tried to collect the money they were owed.