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Kelce (2023)

Kelce (2023)

A warm and comforting sports profile that doesn't do much with its likable subject

5.7

Movie

United States of America
English
Documentary
2023
DON ARGOTT
Aaron Eanas, Jason Kelce, Mike Quick
103 min

TLDR

This may not have taught me much about American football, but it did teach me more about Philadelphia sports fans than I ever could've expected in my lifetime. (Don't piss them off.)

What it's about

Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce tries to make the most out of his 2022–23 football season as his body struggles to keep up with the demands of the sport.

The take

Whether you're already deeply familiar with Jason Kelce, his family, and the podcast he runs with younger brother and fellow player Travis Kelce—or if you only have cursory knowledge about American football—this documentary doesn't provide many meaningful insights beyond the obvious. Eagles devotees should still enjoy spending time with their equally passionate and vulnerable hometown hero, but there's still a missed opportunity here to create a stronger and more thought-provoking story concerned with bigger ideas beyond the titular player. It's okay for a documentary like this to be on its main character's side, but when the film tries too hard to frame Kelce as an underdog, it just begins to look like generic PR—which Kelce neither needs nor deserves.

What stands out

The film doesn't do the best job at balancing Kelce's career highlights with the tender moments he spends as a family man at home, but the latter are where the film approaches more interesting territory. Kelce's wife, Kylie McDevitt, is the one who brings up the fact that the physical risks of playing football for as long as Kelce has can interfere even just with how he interacts with his kids. There's an idea that's floated around about how football players are sort of set up for their 15 minutes of fame, before having to retire to a life of permanent damage and limited prospects—something that the film isn't interested in as much as it should be, but it's still a note worth pondering.

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