Review: Golden Moments Abound In "I, TONYA"

There's a captivating moment of stillness in "I, Tonya" -- the highly anticipated figure skating drama disguised as comedy -- which may just earn the film's leading star some golden awards.

Donning a homemade uniform in a Norwegian ice arena dressing room, Margot Robbie stares into the camera, as through a two-way mirror, to apply a thick coat of dark rouge to her cheeks while her character -- disgraced Olympian Tonya Harding -- prepares to skate in her last winter Games.

As she attempts to fake a "psych-yourself-up-for-the-ice" smile, her emotions -- at last cracked by the pressures of the world's stage, its judgments upon her shoulders, and a lifetime of physical and verbal abuse -- bring forth a single, slow motion tear.

And when the film finally achieves national release next month -- on the 24th anniversary of the events around which Harding's bio are centered (Jan. 6) -- I believe audiences coast-to-coast will cry, too, empathizing with her.

With thanks to the publicists for distributor Neon who sent this Olympic blogger a link to a media screener, on Monday evening I watched "I, Tonya" in my apartment. What a treat!

Much like other recently-experienced award-contender films "Lady Bird," "Blade Runner 2049" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," the skating movie made me want to watch it again right away.

"I, Tonya" is so good.

A theory is that director Craig Gillespie laced "I, Tonya" with subtle homages to a handful of great scenes of '80's and '90's cinema from the years during which Harding's real-life drama took shape.

The tearful solitude during Robbie's makeup application (described above) reminded me of Glenn Close's powerful mascara-removing closing shot, weeping while accepting her fate as the shamed widow at the center of "Dangerous Liaisons."

About mid-film in "I, Tonya," during a scene portraying how competition judges too-often downgraded Harding's hardscrabble performances with low marks, a livid and unapologetically crass Tonya tells a row of officials to "suck my dick!" just like Demi Moore to her master chief while soldiering on as "G.I. Jane."

And a youthful Harding endures paternal abandonment through a tearful and gut-wrenching car-side goodbye to her daddy, just like little Bernice in "Hope Floats."

But first, "I, Tonya" begins with matter-of-fact introductions of Harding, her mother LaVona Golden (expertly crafted by Allison Janney -- more about her later), Harding's dastardly ex-husband Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan), his one-time friend and oafish self-proclaimed bodyguard/espionage expert Shawn Eckhardt (Paul Walter Hauser), and a slippery "Hard Copy" producer (Bobby Cannavale) who covered the attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan and its aftermath, which Harding later tags as "The Incident" and only reason everyone is watching.

Through documentary-style living room or kitchen storytelling confessionals, members of Harding's five-ring circus each present their version of events. Not surprising, their stories rarely jive.

Janney as LaVona = scary. Here's a woman so grizzled she smoked on the ice while enrolling the four-year-old Tonya in youth skating lessons before kicking her daughter out of her chair while admonishing her crying child to "Answer me when I talk to you!"

"You think Sonja Henie's mother mother loved her?" asks LaVona of her daughter. "Poor fucking you!"

Yikes!

Sidebar: The young actress who skates as a pre-teen Harding (Mckenna Grace) gives a confident child star performance reminiscent of a Hannah Pilkes as Robin in "The Woodsman."

Introducing her exotic bird, who roosts on LaVona's shoulder and pecks at her ear, Janney describes the aviary companion named "Little Man" and her "sixth husband" who is the "best one."

Cute, until she tells a teenage Harding's coach to "lick my ass -- she can do a f-ing triple" as in triple axel, which became Tonya's signature move to win the 1991 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Before achieving this pinnacle moment on ice, viewers learn of Harding's awkward introduction to Gillooly (LaVona chaperoned their first date) and the physical abuse that escalated until their 1993 divorce.

LaVona's mother-daughter coaching dynamic, which skews to bullying as motivator, peaks with maternal bribes to fans to psych-out (or toughen?) Tonya before key competitions.

Harding and Kerrigan were friends and roomies during these years, audiences learn. And we learn about Tonya placing out of the medals at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games.

"When you come in fourth at the Olympics, you don't get endorsement deals," said a dejected skater-turned-waitress Harding.

With scant employment prospects and motivated by a 1993 visit from her first fired-in-a-tirade coach (Julianne Nicholson), Tonya decides to return to the ice for another Games in just a year (in real life, the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympic cycle was determined by the IOC much earlier, with creative license slightly tweaking the timeline to "just today" for "Games in Norway next year").

More choices tip some dominoes, and it's not long before Kerrigan's famous screams of "Why?" echo through a Detroit ice rink.

Fun facts from Tonya's training -- like jogging with a 50 pound bag of Purina Dog Chow a la Sly Stallone carrying trees across his Siberian training in "Rocky IV" -- keep things light along the ride.

I'm not gonna try to describe "The Incident" because all its complexities are either mostly known to those who witnessed them in 1994 or may remain as curiously riveting to new audiences in 2018.

Let's state instead that tabloid journalism cut its pre-O.J. Simpson coverage teeth with the Harding/Kerrigan story, and "I, Tonya" delivers in its unspooling then reconstruction of "what happened."

This is where Hauser as Eckhardt nearly steals the show as a man so incompetent on so many fronts.

It's like watching Larry, Curley and Moe all wrapped up with both characters of "Dumb and Dumber" and a dash, er, 300+ pounds of Richard Jewell ... for the win!

Sheesh, so cringe worthy and funny! And scary, "Oh, my!"

At the risk of disclosing minor spoilers, one of the best scenes that unfolds just after "The Incident" shows Eckhardt instructing Gillooly -- in his best "Deep Throat" or James Bond 007 whisper -- to "meet me at Golden Buddha, at our regular table, at the stroke of midnight."

Which brings me to a cameo by one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in suburban Atlanta.

Yes, The Golden Buddha restaurant on Clairmont Road in Decatur, Ga., is "the place" where Gillooly and Eckhardt share their clandestine conversation that unraveled the Harding/Kerrigan incident as the FBI listened from a parked van outside.

Just after watching "I, Tonya" it was fun to enjoy a late-night meal at "The Buddha" and learn from the owner and manager how a location scout approached them in early 2016 to rent the restaurant for a day.

"They liked our original, authentic look," said proprietor Ben Lee in a brief interview near Table 47 (shown) where Eckhardt attempts to incriminate Gillooly, already guilty by association and by many other measures.

Diners get Gillooly'd at blue Table 47

"We opened in 1977 and they filmed in fall 2016," added Lee. "At first we were reluctant to close for a day because of our customers, but we are glad we got involved [with "I, Tonya"].

According to the film's press kit, filming across Atlanta spanned 30 days. But none of other scenes in "I, Tonya" reveal specific Atlanta destinations.

My guess is the Arena at Gwinnett Center served as the Olympic and U.S. Championships skating venues. Shooting also took place in New York (including venues in Lake Placid?) for key rink scenes. (I later read this article citing venues in Macon, Ga.).

Speaking of the skating surfaces, the set decoration and CGI used in "I, Tonya" does present an authentic look of the Games used in Albertville '92 and Lillehammer '94 including the Olympic rings and logos or graphics used by the official broadcasters of both events.

Archival footage including Connie Chung, Ann Curry, David Letterman and other real TV personalities adds to the authenticity.

I wonder what groans and other reactions may occur as Matt Lauer circa 1994 appears on the big screen. Brought me a wince and chuckle.

The music helps, too. An original score by Peter Naschel and more than 30 crowd pleasing classic rock, pop and techno songs accompany the action of "I, Tonya."

I was jamming mostly with "Every 1's A Winner" (Hot Chocolate) or "Little Girl Bad" (Joanie Sommers) and favorites by ZZ Top, Foreigner, Violent Femmes, Heart, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Supertramp.

Doubtful but fun to entertain the notion that Harding skated in Albertville to La Tour's "People Are Still Having Sex."

Great editing, leverage and crescendo of "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac.

There's also a hilarious albeit "serious" reference to Richard Marx!

While pondering this film since viewing its trailer earlier this year, I wondered and started asking some figure skating veterans their take.

And today I reached out to the media relations team for U.S. Figure Skating to ask their stance on "I, Tonya" (also to attempt contact with Harding or Kerrigan -- will trying to contact them put me on thin ice?). Will write up responses as they are presented.

Robbie as Harding speaks throughout the film about truth and personal experience.

The truth is, "I, Tonya" is gonna be a huge hit for its excellent blend of storytelling, acting, drama with laughs, and its Olympic flair.

Sadly, it also reminds viewers that for Harding (and everyone) -- like my Golden Buddha fortune of Monday night -- "life ... is a reality to be experienced."

Photos by Neon, Newsweek and Nicholas Wolaver

David Letterman Rings Out

 

Reflecting on David Letterman's final episode, set to air later this evening, several favorite moments from the show -- including a few with Olympic rings -- come to mind.

Maybe not enough for a Top 10 list, but a few worth noting as the television milestone is here.

My earliest Letterman memories date to summer of 1986.

Though youthful staying up late was permitted years prior, that summer between seventh and eighth grades was my first with my very own in-bedroom TV, so I was more inclined to (and could get away with) keeping the tube on past midnight.

In those days, GE was the new owner of NBC, and Letterman made a lot of jokes about the "GE Guys" (I suspect most of this footage was purged from the archive when Letterman jumped to CBS). Encouraged by a reader letters segment, I hand-carved a candle with cartoonish "GE Guys" suitable for on-air burning (sadly it was never mailed -- never could catch the mailing address).

That was the summer they crushed items with a large press, and it was also the age of the "thrill cam"

and later a "tiger cam" attack on Paul Shaffer as a would-be big cat (a cleverly-placed boom camera) lunged across the audience in a few bounds to a terrified band leader. Very funny.

The ever-changing "home office" references sent me to the atlas several times.

Sort of lost track of Letterman during later years of high school, but picked up again whenever tabloid TV raved about specific episodes. Favorites: Cher proclaiming her hunch that Letterman was an {bleep}hole, and Drew Barrymore flashing her tattoo-covered bare midriff and other body parts.

The Sonny and Cher reunion the following year was must see TV. Maybe tonight Cher will perform "I Got You, Dave" as an homage to the 1987 clip of "I Got You, Babe."

In 1994, Letterman's Olympic coverage from Lillehammer was a nice break from Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding coverage. And it was fun to see David's mom and technician Biff as Olympic correspondents again live from Nagano in 1998.

Of course, Olympic athlete appearances on the show were always fun to watch.

I'll miss Letterman but admit the "new blood" arrival of Stephen Colbert is appealing. Thanks to David Letterman for many funny five-ringed TV moments and lots of laughs.

Photos via CBS

The Word of the Street

Olympic champion Picabo Street may exude fearlessness.

After all, she built her successful downhill ski career by careening as fast as possible down the slopes.

During yesterday's special appearance at the suburban Atlanta corporate office for U.S. Olympic partner Citi, Street did talk about fear and how she tackles it through lessons learned from family, friends and coaches.

"Replace your fears with the task at hand," said Street.

The three-time Olympian said pausing to assess one's frightening situation only makes it more difficult, likened to standing on a high-dive -- the longer one waits or taking time to look down, the harder it gets to just take the plunge.

Street is heading to Sochi with Citi as an ambassador in the company's five-ringed Every Step of the Way initiative through which Olympic fans may help channel donated funds to one of 10 designated Team USA affiliate nonprofits. With just a few clicks online, anyone may elect to support Street's charity of choice, ski and snowboard safety organization Stay On the Slopes. (Disclosure: The P.R. firm for Citi Every Step, MATTER, is an agency for which I will freelance in Sochi.)

Does Street have fear about heading to Russia? Probably yes.

"[Please] pray for us all, for our safety," Street said to about 100 Citi employees in attendance.

To overcome her apparent concerns about personal security in Sochi, Street's selected tasks at hand include her Citi project and an on-air gig with Michelle Kwan as the duo will appear as Fox Sports One correspondents. With a smile and nervous chuckle, Street mentioned the network's plans to activate the pair of Olympians as hard news anchors if the need arises.

But the prospect of frightening Sochi scenarios was only a brief portion of Street's 45 minute, mostly unscripted, very animated and often hilarious chat with Citi team members. Observing Picabo's great storytelling techniques and "keeping it real" demeanor reminded me of great scenes portrayed by Melissa McCarthy.

 

With one of her sons joining the event for "mom's take the kids to work day" Street shared many stories of her own upbringing as a tomboy coming of age in Idaho.

Street explained that some of her earliest memories of skiing went back to a day when her older brother and father left her home to hit the slopes. Upon their return, Street made a strong case for future inclusion, donning her brother's oversized-for-Picabo boots and other gear.

When she finally did get to join the family ski experience, she was all about getting to the bottom of the hill with haste.

Street said she was more afraid of getting pushed off the chair lift than speeding down the mountainside with as few turns as possible.

"I tried turning but it only slowed me down," Street said.

At age 10, Street started telling family and friends of her Olympic aspirations. After many unheeded conversations, her dad finally turned the tables on the young female skier.

"He said, 'O.K., we're going to put all of the family apples into [Picabo's Olympic dream] basket, so it might get heavy -- don't drop it!'" said Street.

No pressure!

Of her many years among the world's best skiers, Street cited a point of pride was rallying her U.S. teammates to dominate. She also cherishes the friendships made with Team USA and European peers.

On those who inspired her most, Street said fellow Lillehammer '94 Olympian Dan Jansen was the biggest impact and that he "epitomized perseverance."

Perseverance came into play when Street later crashed, breaking both the biggest and smallest bones in her body, her jaw and many other body parts. When I asked her one-on-one how she tackled the frustration of being cooped up for a long recovery, Street was frank about the wrath the experience brought her.

"I was angry!" she said. "I was angry and everyone knew it."

She said she channeled that anger into finding other ways to keep her body in shape for an eventual return to the slopes. Street added that being holed up in the hospital made her achingly anxious to pounce.

"It was like being a hungry tiger pacing back and forth in a cage," Street said. "It's like [a tiger who] can smell blood outside and wants to, can't hardly wait, to attack!"

She said she thinks Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn may be in this place mentally during her own recovery from injury.

When a Citi audience member inquired about getting from greatness level to Olympian level technique in sport and in life, Street said she learned to put the lion's share of focus on improving weakness, and that hard work will help overcome flaws while naturally refining one's areas of strength. She said 2014 Team USA members Mikaela Shiffrin and Patrick Meek each remind her of Street's own drive, speed and hard work.

"All choices have consequences," said Street. "My wish [to get to the Olympics] became a daily choice. It was my wish on everything: birthdays, on the clock at 11:11, anything.

"I used to write the Olympic rings in the frost of the windows on the bus," Street added.

Funny, I used to do that on the bus in Oklahoma. And on the windows of my Volvo last week during Indiana's blizzard.

Further keeping it real, Street said during her Sochi TV project she will make it a point to ask Olympians and celebrities to talk about their "crappiest job" for which Street has her worst: Cleaning toilets. As a youth, Street used to help her mom with house cleaning assignments, perhaps another motivator to hit the slopes with dad and brother.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

I'm Not Making This Up

 

In 1990 my good friend Meghan gave me the book "Dave Barry Talks Back" by the Pulitzer Prize winning author and humorist for the Miami Herald. I still laugh about Barry's text describing a dead beached whale and small town law enforcement's botched attempts to remove it with dynamite.

Some of my favorite Barry columns ran nationally during the 1994 Winter Olympics of Lillehammer (my personal favorite referenced "Mr. Suave" offering a bronze medal winner some lutefisk), and during my Olympic days working at Edelman I spoke with Barry's sports reporter wife to invite her to client events.

So it was great fun to attend the Valentine's Day breakfast and book signing event hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, at which Barry shared selected details from his new book "Insane City." He said the book takes place in Miami, the city he moved to from the United States, the city with the tag line "Come back ... we weren't shooting at you!"

I found it interesting Barry's son is now a Wall Street Journal reporter and recent newlywed whose nuptials may have factored for the new book. Barry said his mother's "tell it like it is" attitude also influenced his upbringing (Example: On a bad day mom might respond to "how's your day going?" with a straightforward reply "just shitty"). Less surprising, Barry's other literary influences varied from writers in The New Yorker to MAD magazine.

During the audience Q&A session I asked Barry two questions:

1. Since another best-selling author (Tom Wolfe) recently wrote about Miami in detail, was there any collaboration or a meeting of the minds?

Answer: No. (This surprised me since Wolfe typically networks with prominent residents while researching local color for his novels.)

2. Given the many Olympic travels Barry experienced, is there a particular Olympic memory that stands out?

Answer: Getting hit by a taxi in Athens!

Barry said during the Athens 2004 Olympics, while dining at a sidewalk cafe with his wife and another sports reporter, his chair was toppled by a Greek taxi driver who was inclined to drive on said sidewalk (a memory affirmed by his Oct. 2004 column). Ouch! He also relayed a preference for the summer versus winter competitions.

I added "Insane City" to my reading list, just a title or two after Wolfe's latest, "Back To Blood." And I'll be looking for Barry in Rio's taxi stands and sidewalk cafes in 2016.

Photo by Nicholas Wolaver; book covers via Amazon.com

 

 

Skating Through Vegas

When last I posted, my team from Edelman was on site at Las Vegas working with our client the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009.

Whew! Time flies!

That week was a blur of early morning live TV reports, long walks on miles of aisles of exhibits and evenings with IAAPA members or communications peers (and, I must admit, a trip or two to some roulette tables during brief down time throughout the week).

Though there was no energy to post to the blog that week, and Thanksgiving week is traditionally an "IAAPA recovery" week (this year my "recovery" included a 2,000-mile round-trip holiday drive to Oklahoma for family time), tonight I must post some IAAPA highlights to keep things timely. Thanks to all for patience during the break since the most recent post.

About Las Vegas: Still trying to decide my mixed bag of love, fear and loathing from the experience.

There's plenty to love -- the Strip impressed me, as did the Bellagio fountains, the Venetian, the airport, most of the hospitality/taxi drivers and "locals," the Las Vegas Convention Center and the grand scale of so many other places (the massive hotels reminded me of Beijing's skyline and grandeur).

I'm still speechless about the Cirque du Soleil show "O" which we witnessed from the third row -- breathtaking. (Disclosure: Cirque du Soleil is a client of Edelman, the P.R. firm where I work.)

Will also remember fondly the night flight into the city and the departure flight takeoff over The Strip, Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon as I collapsed with sheer exhaustion from the Vegas experience.

A review of some favorite Vegas films is in order, with "Casino" and scenes from "Rain Man" coming out of the archive for viewing later this week. I was happy to view "The Hangover" last week, and seeing it post-Vegas gave some new perspective.

So, in Las Vegas with IAAPA, I was determined to find "IAAPA's Olympic connection" for the blog. By day three of the Expo, things were not looking too good -- not even a plush toy with some vague reference to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascots.

But then one of my colleagues pointed out that the exhibiting company Xtraice was in da house.

"What is Xtraice?" I wondered.

Turns out, it is a waterless surface on which anyone may "ice" skate -- on figure skates, speed skates or any other skating blade -- on what is billed as "ecological ice" on a synthetic, near-ice-slick surface.

I was impressed to learn that Xtraice is now used for sports training by some of the official governing bodies for skating sports worldwide, and the Xtraice surface may also be useful for tropical nations like Aruba or Guam to train for winter Olympic sports on ice.

The IAAPA:Olympic connection was further affirmed when I learned that two-time Olympic figure skater/two-time World silver medalist Surya Bonaly was on site at IAAPA Attractions Expo skating in the Xtraice booth!

Olympic figure skater Surya Bonaly was one of the friendliest Olympians encountered to date. In addition to being a great sport (showing up for a very early morning live TV segment), she took time to speak with IAAPA attendees (including bloggers) throughout the week. Turns out she is now a Las Vegas resident, as she became a U.S. citizen a few years ago. It was cool to learn more about her Olympic Oath experience in Albertville (representing all athletes in the Games in Bonaly's home nation, France), and her Olympic Village visits in Lillehammer (see video).

One of my teammates later informed me of a Vegas adult establishment with an Olympic theme, but I will have to save research of that establishment (if it still exists) when we return to Las Vegas for IAAPA Attractions Expo 2011.

Chicago 2016 Bid Gets Presidential

My days usually begin with NPR Morning Edition on the clock-radio, and today's first report on the ear-ly was news that The White House announced that President Obama will join the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid delegation in Copenhagen. This is tremendous -- another first for this White House (no U.S. president has attended an IOC bid city election of the past, as I understand it).

According to The White House press release, several of Obama's cabinet members, who are also from Chicago, will join the delegation. I have got to ask: Why is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- also a Chicago native and, um, SECRETARY OF STATE (our nation's representative to the international community!) missing from the delegation? She is a huge Olympic fan, having attended the Games in Lillehammer and Atlanta as First Lady.

Well, it's not too late to add Mrs. Clinton to Obama's and Chicago 2016's All-Stars pitching the U.S. as host city. It is going to be a big week!