mr-anthony-938-194965 Review of The Gabby Douglas Story

The Gabby Douglas Story (2014 TV Movie)

Edited story and poorly told.

[5/10 · 19 June 2020]

I admire Gabby Douglas so much so thought I would love the film but didn't. You have to wait two thirds of the way through before a proper complication actually arises ... and then it gets solved rapidly. Contrived and drawn-out scenes which are too obviously trying to be emotional are strewn everywhere in this film, while the effort she would have had to put in isn't represented well at all. Gymnasts fail moves time and time again. They fall a million times but keep getting back up and have to persevere until they finally land it. This movie made it look like a walk in the park. As if Gabby could just do everything first try because she's so amazing. Don't get me wrong, she is obviously exceptional, but to me it degrades her hard work when we never see her fall. So there's no tension when she's performing, just like there's no tension in any scene really. I thought I might get an insight into who she is as a person and what it was like being the first black woman to achieve what she did, but that's brushed over and basically ignored. You can tell the director was a white guy who didn't find that important. This movie does not do Gabby Douglas justice.