Review: A young cast with intellectual disabilities may be the only thing going for 'Champions,' but the hint of exploitation doesn't go away.

There’s something noble in what director Bobby Farrelly is trying to do in his new movie, “Champions” — by centering a story on a group of intellectually disabled characters, played by actors who share those disabilities, and laboring mightily not to be condescending in portraying them.

But nobility is about intentions, not the results — and apart from some funny moments provided by those performers with disabilities, there’s not much to “Champions” other than a formulaic sports comedy.

The premise of Mark Rizzo’s script (adapted from a 2018 movie from Spain) starts with Marcus (Woody Harrelson), the hot-headed assistant coach for a minor-league basketball team in Des Moines, Iowa. His career starts spiraling when he disagrees with his head coach, Phil (Ernie Hudson), and pushes Phil to the ground during a game — a moment that goes viral, makes ESPN, and gets Marcus fired. 

Marcus compounds his misfortune with a bad choice: Getting drunk and then driving. He hits a police car, gets arrested, and is given one choice by the judge (Alexandra Castillo): Do 18 months in prison, or work 90 days of community service by coaching a team of kids with intellectual disabilities. Reluctantly, Marcus chooses the community service.

Marcus arrives at the community center, run by the kindly Julio (Cheech Marin), and meets his players. Take it on faith that each of these players has a name, and at least one character quirk — but it would take a second or third viewing to get the names and quirks straight. Notable are Cosentino (Madison Tevlin), a pint-sized and foul-mouthed girl player, and Darius (Joshua Felder), who’s the best player on the team but refuses to play for Marcus (for reasons explained later). 

There’s also Johnny (Kevin Iannucci), whose older sister, Alex (Kaitlin Olson, late of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) who has had a previous encounter with Marcus — a Tinder hookup that ended with bickering — and isn’t particularly eager to start anything long-term. Alex, a struggling actor who teaches Shakespeare in Iowa schools from her camper van, agrees to become the team’s chaperone and transportation to away games.

Farrelly used to work with his brother, Pater, on such transgressive comedies as “Dumb and Dumber,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “Kingpin” (which featured Harrelson) — before Peter went for moralizing with “Green Book.” Bobby Farrelly seems to be trying to please the angels in the same way, though Bobby still recognizes when a good dirty joke can be employed.

One of the formulaic parts of the story comes when Marcus’ coaching is improving the team and making them better —and, when word gets out, Marcus’ dream of an NBA job seems in his grasp. But the question of whether Marcus is exploiting the teens’ disabilities pops up, which is an odd thing for a movie whose comedic structure is, one could argue, doing the same thing.

At least someone’s generating laughs here. Harrelson and Olson, both reliable comedy performers, have few funny moments and zero chemistry. The young hoopsters may be winners, but not much else in “Champions” is.

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‘Champions’

★★

Opens Friday, March 10, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG-13 for strong language and crude/sexual reference. Running time: 123 minutes.