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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. An irascible, down-on-his-luck coach is reluctantly put in charge of a ragtag team of misfits who can barely play the game. Although he can hardly disguise his initial disgust, the players’ enthusiastic attitudes and general lovability soften him up until he becomes not just their coach but also their most ardent cheerleader. In the process, he becomes a better person.

That’s the Bad News Bears-style template for the latest cinematic variation on the subject, starring Woody Harrelson in a role he was seemingly born to play. You don’t need to have seen the 2018 Spanish hit comedy Campeones, which won multiple Goya Awards including Best Film, to think that its American remake, Champions, feels overly familiar. But that doesn’t make this sure-to-be crowd-pleaser any less winning, especially with the endlessly likable Harrelson at its center.

In this case, the...