When a pro soccer player is suspended, she teams up with a laid-back, small-town coach to lead her niece's team to the playoffs.
Starring: Nadia Hatta and Kristoffer Polaha
Image: Hallmark Media
What Is A Winning Team About?
Emily Chen is the star player of her professional soccer team, but she has a serious attitude problem. When a referee ejects her from the game for the third time in the season, her coach suspends her indefinitely.
Emily's widower brother and niece coax her to leave Chicago and join them in their small town of Southern Pines. With no other plans but to continue training, Emily needs the love and support of her family as much as they need her to fill the void left by her sister-in-law's passing from cancer.
Emily first encounters Ian on the soccer field during a game with his buddies. They let her play, and since she is hyper-competitive, Emily accidentally injures Ian's ankle.
Not realizing the man she sidelined is her niece Ava's soccer coach, Emily agrees to temporarily fill-in so the team won't be forced to forfeit.
Emily's and Ian's coaching philosophies couldn't be more different. She is aggressive and cutthroat on the field, and to her, winning is everything. Ian is ultra laid-back, unwilling to try new strategies, and is more focused on building team spirit and having fun.
Image: Hallmark Media
Although Emily and Ian clash initially, they ultimately learn to find a happy medium. She curtails her relentless desire to win, becomes more of a team player, and tries to focus a little more on fun. Ian becomes less lackadaisical and places more emphasis on winning. Their relationship evolves until it reaches the perfect balance.
Conflict arises when Emily's coach reinstates her to the team, since they've been suffering consecutive losses without her, but the job requires her to return to Chicago.
Ian realizes he has a "type." His ex-wife left him after becoming a doctor because her career was more important to her that he was, and he finds himself in the same situation once again.
How does Hallmark reconcile this dilemma? Emily can't be expected to sacrifice her career--the only thing she's known for 20 years--but can she turn her back on the family who needs her and the man who's falling in love with her?
If you haven't had a chance to watch The Winning Team, check out the trailer below:
Polaha Dishes on A Winning Team
In a recent interview with TVInsider, Polaha shares interesting details about his most recent Hallmark movie.
Polaha says he received the script for A Winning Team at the perfect time. His son's sixth grade flag football team needed dads to help coach, so he volunteered. The team went from not scoring to winning every game after their initial two losses. How ironic that he was preparing for a role he didn't even know was in the pipeline!
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A key moment in Ian's and Emily's relationship occurs during the rope scene in the trees. As tough as she acts, Emily has one major weakness--she's afraid of heights. Polaha says, "She learns to trust him, and she learns to just listen to his voice and look at his face and taken another step to overcome that fear." It's a well-scripted, metaphorical moment.
Hallmark sneaks in another LGBTQ character under the radar. The man who equips Ian and Emily for the ropes says he wishes his "partner" would be adventurous enough to do activities together like this with him. Image: Hallmark Media
The Sub-Plot & Humor in A Winning Team
A Winning Team is a strong script. Most of us are weary of the heroines being writers and event planners, so a story about a professional soccer player is a welcome change-up.
Not only is the story arc well-developed, with Emily mellowing and Ian embracing the fire of competition as their characters evolve, but the sub-plot is a pleasant surprise.
Ava wants to be a pro soccer player too, just like her mom and aunt, but even more, she wants to act. When an opportunity comes her way to star in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, she grabs it. Ava is worried Emily will be disappointed in her but is relieved when her aunt releases her to pursue her own dreams rather than choosing the same path of the women closest to her.
There are several comedic moments sprinkled throughout the movie, which is a fun twist Hallmark has experimented with in recent movies.
Brandon tries to be the "cool dad," which results in him being anything but cool. He uses teenage slang, like sus in place of suspicious, and he's "in the know" about Taylor Swift's music, but he sounds lame with each stab at coolness, which is what makes it so amusing.
Brandon is the stereotypical, pesky brother. When Emily jokingly tells Brandon he's just "sad," he quips right back, "Well, you're the opposite of happy."
Ideas for Outdoor Fun!
When Ava auditions for the Shakespearean play, parents aren't allowed to watch. Ian hoists Emily onto his shoulders so she can peer through the window, which works perfectly until he sneezes and Emily's face smashes into the pane.
Incorporating humor into a rom-com is tricky. The comedy is either going to land or it's not; in A Winning Team, it works perfectly.
Do You Think Ian and Emily Have Chemistry in A Winning Team?
Hallmark's fixation on diversity often results in romantic pairings that don't work. When casting decisions are based on checking boxes instead of organic onscreen chemistry, viewers notice.
Hatta and Polaha only manage to muster about a 3 out of 10 on the sizzle scale. Sorry, just not feeling it. The two actors play off one another well, but they do not look like a couple. At all.
Nadia Hatta is a famous Chinese actress, and A Winning Team is her first Hallmark movie. Her acting is above average but not impressive. She has to portray a tough athlete, but she's just not likeable, especially in the scene where she obnoxiously keeps stabbing all the food off of Ian's plate in the diner. Even when Hatta tries to show warmth and love to those around her, she still seems cold and stiff.
What do you think of the chemistry between Ian and Emily? Vote below:
What Happened to Polaha's Hair?
The big question fans are wondering is what did Polaha do to his hair? It's a disheveled mess the entire movie.
The look is intentional, not permanent.
Fix your hair next time, Kris! Image: Hallmark Media
Maybe Polaha is putting too much thought into it. He has a huge fan base who will love him no matter what, but we tune in to see handsome Polaha with awesome hair.
A Winning Team has a little different vibe than Hallmark-as-usual, but casting Hatta wasn't a good choice.
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