Whack!

Think about spending two hours with the dumbest, most God awful people you can find.   What's that, you say?   You already did that at Christmas with your in-laws.   Well, as horrific as they probably are, you haven't met the characters in "I, Tonya."  It is possible that liberals could possibly hate them more than Donald Trump.

Yeah, I realize that's a lofty goal.   But this bunch is truly detestible.  But the amazing thing about it?   I thoroughly enjoyed "I, Tonya."

If you slept through the 90s, you might have missed the media circus that erupted when Olympic skating hopeful Tonya Harding allegedly had somebody take a bat to the back of rival skater Nancy Kerrigan's knees.  I say "allegedly" because the folks involved are still contradicting each other about what really happened.   Director Craig Gillespie masterfully juxtaposes "current day" interviews with flashbacks to merrily confuse everybody after the real events. It is a perfect representation of human frailty and what happens when ego gets in the way of...well, just about everything and everybody.   

At the same time, you laugh through all this pain and trauma because it really happened and the notion that "you can't write this shit" is completed validated with every frame of "I, Tonya."

Craving some horrible language?  This is the movie for you with the uber-offensive "c word" uttered at least a half dozen times.   But the crudeness of these characters fits them to a tee as Tonya Harding and company are as trashy as white trash can be.   

You can start with Tonya's anvil of a mother, a woman so despicable that she makes Joan Crawford look like June Cleaver.   This role is essayed by the always dependable Allison Janney, who is certain to get an Oscar nomination for this live action edition of Cruella DeVille.  Again, she's so mean in her treatment of her skating daughter that you giggle all through the pain.   Can people be this mean?  Apparently yes.

Tonya Harding is played to a brilliant turn by Margot Robbie and, to say she makes some wrong choices in life would be like expecting to see Nancy Pelosi at Trump Tower for New Year's Eve.   She clearly is the product of an abusive upbringing and has the scars and welts to prove it.   One of the blows from her mom might have gone to her head because she inexplicably hooks up with an opportunistic yet fatally stupid boyfriend named Jeff and played by Sebastian Stan.   This is the epitome of the lowlife you're afraid your daughter will bring home for dinner.   But, again, through the stupidity, you are laughing.  Heartily.

Indeed, every thing or person that these lunkheads come in contact are hateful and damaged and laughable.   You can't believe you're spending all this time getting involved in their story...and enjoying every moment.

Truth be told, I didn't commit to memory what really happened back in 1994 when the whole incident of Harding and Kerrigan went down.   As a result, I was mesmerized to find out how it would play out.   But, given the misguided clowns in this movie, you really are left to make your own conclusions at the end.   And when a movie has you discussing it afterwards, that is always a good thing.

Janney's performance alone is worth the price of admission.   She is up for Best Supporting Actress against Laurie Metcalf of "Lady Bird."    I can't think of two more dependable or watchable actors in the universe.

But there's a lot more to see in "I, Tonya."   If only your in-laws were this compelling...

LEN'S RATING:  Three-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Sausage, peppers, and onions.