I have to tell you right away: I may be too biased to do a fair review here. You see, I grew up as a fan of the LA Lakers, right in the middle of the Showtime era, featured in the new HBO documentary drama Winning Time (debuting this Sunday at 9pm; I watched the first four episodes). This is the team that made me fall in love with basketball and in honor of Winning Time, it actually manages to capture the joy and excitement of watching these great Laker teams. Yes, it’s considerably crowded and surprisingly rough, and I wonder if non-sports fans will get involved, but for me it’s a hell of a lot of fun. (Much more fun than watching the current Lakers season, I can tell you that.)
It’s hard to remember now, after all the championships, but the Lakers were once charming losers, always lagging behind their hated rivals the Boston Celtics. Winning Time began in the late ’70s, with a screaming new team owner, Jerry Buss, determined to make the Lakers winners and also a box office attraction. Played by John C. Riley here, Buss is a cheeky scumbag, all chest hair and gold medallions, with many women on hand. His transformation from the Lakers from top to bottom, beginning with the making of superstar Magic Johnson, has become a classic sports story, with a group of unsuitable people coming together to win everything, claiming five NBA titles in the 80’s – and, along with Larry Bird’s Celtics breathed new life into a struggling league that was in serious danger of giving up altogether.
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Winning Time feels like a free party from that era: a windy step, with a lot of laughter and characters breaking the fourth wall to turn directly to the camera. (Adam McKay is an executive producer and director, and the show’s style is reminiscent of his explanation of the financial crisis, The Big Short.) The ’70s Visuals followed suit, with grainy 16mm shots combined into scenes with clear HD images to create a vintage atmosphere. In addition, the funk soundtrack is practically strong, with dramatic scenes recorded by a tuned synthesizer.
Basketball scenes are tingling with kinetic energy, while the Lakers adopt a fast-paced style of play that revolutionizes the game. But the action here takes place mostly off the court. (Actually, we don’t see the Lakers playing until the fourth episode.) Winning Time is really getting into the weeds of basketball strategy and front office moves, diligently showing how to build a great team. He also immersed his toes in unpleasant waters, shedding light on the profligate sex, drugs and battles that accompanied the rise of the Lakers. (With sexy Laker Girls dancers and celebrities sitting on the court, Buss aimed to turn the Lakers into a cross between Disneyland, Playboy Mansion and the Oscars.) But he bites off more than he can chew on, taking on too many characters. We follow more than a dozen characters through a wave of flashbacks and strange psychological detours, explaining how this parade of injured men turned out to be so damaged. (It’s ten episodes, but it could easily have been six or even four.) His dynamic style and intriguing personalities help him rise above all that.
Riley is as great as Buss, gliding through LA like a king, while letting us know that under all lightning, he’s a great businessman. (By the way, McKay was absolutely right to choose him over Will Ferrell.) It’s almost impossible to find someone as effervescent as the real Magic Johnson, but newcomer Quincy Isaiah is getting damn close – he has a smile and confidence. And here are great actors in small roles everywhere: Michael Chicklis as the legendary Celtics CEO Red Auerbach, Sally Field as the skeptical mother of Jerry Buss, Tracy Lets as the hard coach Jack McKinney. Even when the number of characters becomes huge, the actors make him work with sharply watched performances.
So will a sports beginner enjoy Winning Time? I can’t say for sure. I see basketball addicts swallowing this, as they did in a recent ESPN document from Chicago Bulls The Last Dance, as a meaty piece from a bygone era in the NBA, but all the jargon jargon can be repulsive to non-fans. However, the drama here goes beyond the basketball court, showing how fresh thinking can revive an industry. And these Laker teams were known to do shows and turn skeptics into fans, so maybe Winning Time could do the same on TV. When I hit all the cylinders, I feel like watching the 80’s Lakers run up and down the court – and that’s the biggest compliment I can give him.
EXTERNAL ON TVLINE: Sports fans will have a ball with HBO’s Winning Time, a wild, rough chronicle of the LA Lakers’ rise to NBA dominance.