I’ve always had this fascination with the whole Tonya Harding story, mostly because I remember it as a kid. I remember watching TGIF, anyone remember that(?), on ABC when the news cut in to say that there was this horrible attack on Nancy Kerrigan. I was out that night with my parents at a neighbors house and everyone rushed in to watch as Nancy screamed “why” over and over again after the attack. It became this whole thing and just something that people wouldn’t stop talking about it. Anyway, after seeing this movie on Hulu, I decided to give it a try. I really didn’t expect much from it so my expectations going into this movie were pretty low.
I, Tonya is the story, not sure how true it is, about Tonya Harding, who is played brilliantly by Margot Robbie. All Tonya wanted to do was skate and this was pushed onto her from an early age by her mother, also played brilliantly by Allison Janney. Being 4 years old and training for hours a day wasn’t easy on Tonya, but she pushed herself to become something more than what she was. It’s really like she was born to skate and just had some really bad luck along the way like meeting her first husband Jeff, played by Sebastian Stan. The story says how she was constantly abused and it gets into that a lot, but it also gets into the fact that she was the first American woman to complete a triple axel during a competition. This was no small feat and it also shows everything that happened after that, her first failure at the winter Olympics, the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, her second failure at the winter Olympics, and finally her fall from grace.
Whether or not this story is entirely true and Tonya was this emotional and physically beaten woman or maybe it was the other way around and she was the one who was physically abusing her husband, the one thing that can’t be denied is that she was a really talented skater who had a bunch of unfortunate events lead up to her many failures. This movie shows how she was a really talented skater who basically grew up on the wrong side of town but tried to overcome all of that. Unfortunately she didn’t and she’ll always been seen as the villain no matter how she’s portrayed. I found the movie to be an interesting one as it showed her complete life before skating, during her skating years, and a brief writing about what happened after she was stripped of her skating status. Other than that, I really don’t know what to think of this movie. Did she not know what was going on or was she the mastermind behind all of Nancy Kerrigan drama? That story will never be accurately told since there are so many players in this game and it’s really a web of lies as everyone tries to blame on another.
The cast really makes this movie as Margot Robbie, who to tell the truth after Suicide Squad, which you can read my review here, I didn’t really think much of her, did an amazing job portraying Tonya Harding. Margot Robbie is a really talented actress and she shows off just how talented she is in this movie. Her acting, along with the support of Allison Janney, just brings this movie to life and really captivates the audience. The other people in this movie are kind of forgettable, but the cast as a whole works really well together and makes this movie a hell of a lot more interesting then it probably should have been.
Overall I give this movie a 4 out of 5.
Whether or not this story is the actual truth is highly debatable, but it is an interesting one to watch if you were into the whole Tonya and Nancy drama that unfolded in front of the American public. It’s basically a story about a promising skater’s fall from grace and how that can never be redeemed no matter what. I would say that if you’re in the mood for a movie that is dark and shows that how even though some people try to better themselves they can’t, then this is the movie for you. If you’re looking for the actual truth on the whole Tonya and Nancy thing, I don’t think you’re going to find it here so move along. If you just want something to watch and see one perspective on the events that unfolded then at least the movie is entertaining enough to keep your interest for the two hour run time.
1 Broke Gamer Girl 