First One In
Not Rated
VOD/Digital starting September 8 (Amazon, iTunes, Google Play…)
First One In was written and directed by Gina O’Brien
I’m not even going to try to explain this one, except with a few excerpts from the press materials, okay?
Fine; maybe I’ll throw some commentary in amongst it, as well…
After accidentally killing an endangered animal on a popular reality TV show, Madi Cooke (Kat Foster) is labeled an eco-terrorist, is fired from her job, and believes she now is the most hated woman in America. [How is this not reflective of the entire Reality TV genre? How?]
She changes her look and last name to interview with Bobbi, who heads Mason Agents — the #1 real estate firm in Connecticut. But in an effort to maintain championship status in a local, annual tournament, Bobbi only hires women who play tennis. [Here we introduce our antagonist… do you hate her yet? Don’t worry; you will.]
Madi joins a clinic at Acme Indoor Tennis to practice the game she hasn’t played seriously since high school. That’s where she meets Tennis Pro Fernando, Jane, Ceecee, Preeti, and Valentina, and renews her strained friendship with her best friend and former high school tennis partner, Ollie. [A buddy movie!]
In a twist of events, Madi and her underdogs take on Bobbi’s Mason Agents at their Elite tennis club, where Madi will find her grit or lose everything. [A feel-good movie!]
Okay, sarcasm aside, let me just say that First One In owes a lot to the inspirational(?) sports movies that came before it, including Caddyshack, Major League, Bull Durham, Dodgeball, and heck, even Happy Gilmore.
But let me be clear: First One In is it’s own movie. The “girl power” aspect of it aside for a moment, Gina O’Brien has crafted a really solid set of characters, set in a universe only slightly askew from our own, without bogging it down under what some might refer to as “chick stuff.”
It’s all human stuff. Humans who want to belong. Humans who are fragile, while simultaneously being stronger than they think.
Humans who need other humans, because being alone sucks.
Humans who have dreams, even if they push them down as they get older, trying to “fit in” to some ridiculous social construct.
In the end, I’ll be blunt: there is no reason a movie about hyper-competitive, tennis playing, real-estate saleswomen should be this funny/entertaining/inspirational, but First One In is.
It’s not a “chick flick” in that the fact 99% of the characters are women is irrelevant to the ability to watch and appreciate this movie.
Also, in case my overall opinion is not clear by now, First One In also proves that quality will rise to the top, no matter who writes it, directs it, stars in it, or does press for it. There is no magic formula or ratio of whatever that can make a bad movie good.
And First One In is good. Very much so.
Make a good movie, and people will watch it.
Watch First One In.
First One In stars Kat Foster, Georgia King, Alana O’Brien, Catherine Curtin, Emy Coligado, Aneesh Sheth, Karina Arroyave, Josh Segarra, and Michael Ian Black
My Grade: A
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