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.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

Secrets of the Neanderthals (2024)

This plodding, unenergetic documentary sees neanderthals and humans as two branches on the same tree

6.0

Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (2023)

A meditative character study of an independent middle-aged woman

7.2

La Belle Noiseuse (1991)

A sensual, spellbinding masterpiece depicting the creative process and its muse

8.1

La Chimera (2023)

A dreamy, bewitching film that ponders on ideas of lostness and longing

8.0

Wicked Little Letters (2024)

It’s not the most original mystery out there, nor the most rousing feminist piece, but Wicked Little Letters’ robust performances make it well worth watching

7.1

John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch (2019)

John Mulaney successfully creates an offbeat children's comedy special tackling death

7.5

Belle (2013)

A stirring, though fictionalized, period drama intertwining race and romance

7.2

Lilting (2014)

A thoughtful, heartbreaking debut feature where shared grief bridges two different people

7.2

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Hail Satan? (2019)

Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple

8.0

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.