I, Tonya

It's a bit tough to watch because Tonya just endures so much abuse throughout her early life. Her skating legacy is definitely overshadowed by the Nancy kerrigan situation. When it comes to sports, it's all about timing and luck. Tonya had amazing skill and would have won a gold medal if she landed the triple axel in the Olympics. Great movie, only complaints are the Margot Robbie does not look 15, she looks 30. Also the ending is cheesy.

I felt so bad for Tonya Harding after watching this movie. Here we had a child who just wanted to skate, but was forced into becoming some sort of athletic prodigy by her horrible abusive mother. She eventually did, but only because she wanted love and affection from her mother for once in her life. She never got it. Instead, she ended up living a nightmare and tried to escape in her teen years by marrying the first guy who dated her (he also turned out to be abusive). She tried becoming the best skater in the world, but was constantly being held back by negative public perception. Tonya came from a poor background, wore handmade costumes, and had a foul mouth and a bad temper (though if you were raised by an abusive mother and harassed every day of your life you probably would too). Then when she has a chance at qualifying for the US Olympic Team and finally achieving her dream, her husband hatches a plan to sabotage her best friend on the team. This effectively kills her career and turns her life into a punchline for the rest of the world. The media was partly to blame, with their craving for drama and gossip and constant stalking. Such a tragedy.

This should have won the academy award for best picture! Loved the rawness of the film. Essays could be written about the family violence portrayed, of Tonya, of everyone that played a part in that poor girl's life. There were problems about the judging in figure skating - that Tonya was trying to point out - but we didn't know back then. Not until Sale & Pelletier scandal at the Salt Lake City Olympics were they addressed. What was particularly poignant was the judgement banning her from figure skating - a life long sentence - that she was expected to bear along with the unfairness of it. Did her lawyers do right by her? I don't think so. If Mohammed Ali was able to box again, why couldn't Tanya skate again?